In addition to being the owner of El Corazon Gallery at 4889 Mission St., Sergio Piña is also the owner of a collection of soccer memorabilia that I have dubbed “la última colección.” The collection, which he began in 1995, features jerseys from some of the best international soccer players, including Rafael Márquez, who plays for Fútbol Club Barcelona and the Mexican national football team.
Piña said that he received his first jersey from Argentine player Rubén Omar Romano, who he was personally introduced to by Hugo Sánchez, former member of Real Madrid. Piña also said that it felt good to receive such a gift from a player of Romano’s caliber.
What stood out to me about the collection was the various colors --- red, blue, green, pink --- that establish a national feel. In fact, Piña said that he put his collection on display to not only give it that national feel, but to also represent his Mexican heritage. In fact, he said that some of his favorite team jerseys, including Brazil, Germany, and Mexico, have been featured in the world cup.
Along with his soccer memorabilia, Piña also collects the masks of popular Mexican wrestlers, or luchadors, including El Santo (The Saint) and Blue Demon (pictured below), whom he acknowledges as Mexico’s “Batman and Superman.”
“When I was a kid, I would admire them,” he said. As a fan of wrestling from the United States and Mexico, it’s easy to understand why children admire these masked men. It’s like when they dress up as other masked heroes such as the Power Rangers and Spider-Man: They imagine themselves as their favorite heroes and believe that they are just as strong and can defeat any villain. But there’s more behind wearing the masks than just dressing up; they wear the masks to show support for their heroes as well. In addition, they’re encouraged to imagine what their favorite luchadors look like under the masks. Piña said that he would like to collect the masks of Mil Máscaras (The man of 1,000 masks) and current World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Rey Mysterio.
Piña also collects laminated photos of popular athletes, including legendary Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chávez, who he acknowledges as a “Mexican Muhammad Ali.” As I prepared to ask him a question about the pictures, he told me that he doesn’t have to answer any questions about Chávez because “you know (who) Chávez (is).”
He’s right; as a boxing fan since age 3, I’ve watched Chávez fight with the heart of not only a true champion, but also a proud Mexican warrior as he earned six world titles by defeating some of the best like Héctor Camacho, Meldrick Taylor, and Frankie Randall. The same pride Chávez fought with is the same pride I see in some of today’s best such as Manny Pacquiao of the Phillippines and Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico.
But the collection doesn’t end at the store. Piña said he currently owns over 160 jerseys at home and that he wants to continue collecting masks and jerseys. He also said that he’s shown his collection to customers who have asked him about it. I don’t think you can put a price on this collection of soccer memorabilia because it is very special to Piña, who said that he enjoys collecting simply because it’s a hobby.
No comments:
Post a Comment