"He was a man very loved by the people", recalls the son of "Pollo de Arrecife, also called Heraclio Niz, who is grateful for the expressions of affection, attention and condolences that the family has received from citizens, after the death of his father. "It is very comforting to hear people talk about your father with affection and to hear how they remember his anecdotes."
Heraclio Niz remembers his father as a man who "was always there to smile and help others." "In his time as a police officer," says the son of "Pollo de Arrecife", "he brought foreign people who had nowhere to sleep home, to the point that it looked like a boarding house." A fact that led him to receive, in a "fair recognition", the Medal of Tourist Merit in 1964, which was presented to him by the then Minister of Tourism and Information, Manuel Fraga, as the son of the deceased recalls.
However, despite the "deserved recognitions he received from the Canarian Wrestling Federation and Lanzarote", Heraclio Niz regrets that "neither the politicians of the time, when it was proposed that some street, statue or wrestling court bear his name, nor those after", recognized his father. In addition, "since he retired he had hardly any recognition", he adds. "He left with that sorrow", laments the son of "Pollo de Arrecife".
Farewell to a part of Lanzarote's history
Heraclio Niz Mesa, better known as "Pollo de Arrecife", died on Sunday, May 23, at the age of 80. Family, friends and political representatives said goodbye to him on Monday afternoon in the cemetery of Haría, his native municipality. With his death, a part of the history of Lanzarote has gone.
The island was thus shocked, after the departure of a fighter who has left behind a life full of popularity, not only for his achievements in the arenas, but also for his multiple appearances on the big screen, with more than twenty films behind him.
Heraclio Niz Mesa, the "Pollo de Arrecife", was born on July 27, 1929 in the town of Máguez. Although his father and uncle were wrestlers, he came to Canarian wrestling by chance at the age of 18. With a childhood between Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, he played football as a goalkeeper and midfielder for C. D Torrelavega in the 1947-48 season. After being sanctioned in some matches, he took advantage of this moment to join the Northern team and make his first fight in Tao, where he managed to knock down two opponents.
Thus, he decided to move to Gran Canaria, where he began to officially start in Canarian wrestling. The 50s were the time of his consecration, where he managed to defeat the best fighters of the time such as Camurrita, Isaac Ramos, Abel Cárdenes, Cubanito and Ramírez, among many others. He then formed part of two teams from Las Palmas: Kruger and Tumbador.
Even the gold tooth that Heraclio Niz proudly wore was owed to Canarian wrestling. In a fight in 1950, in the Old Field of Spain, the dentist Velázquez told him that if he made a sweep like the previous one, in which he had defeated seven rivals, he would put a gold tooth in the space that was empty in his teeth. The "Pollo de Arrecife" behaved like a champion and got his gold tooth.
From the arenas to the big screen
Already in 1958, with 29 years just completed, Heraclio Niz Mesa decided to retire from the arenas and return to Lanzarote to work as a municipal police officer, being for years head of the Local Police of Arrecife.
However, he remained linked to wrestling on his return to Lanzarote, where he created the Osborne and trained San Bartolomé. In 1967, at 38 years of age, he signed for the Northern team where, although he was no longer the same, he still had good fights.
His popularity also led him to participate in more than twenty films of the time, among which "Tirma", "La Ruta Salina, alert in Canarias", "Más bonita que ninguna" and "One Million Years", in which the actress Raquel Welch participated.
Heraclio Niz also received several recognitions throughout his life. The Minister of Tourism and Information of the time, Manuel Fraga, presented him with the Medal of Tourist Merit in 1964, because for years he was a true host to the thousands of tourists who arrived in the capital. In addition, he received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Cisneros. He also rubbed shoulders with very important personalities of the time such as the Count of Barcelona, father of the King of Spain, with whom he had more than one conversation.
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