Monday evening transported me back to high school Spanish class.

At La Raza Galeria Posada, I watched a non-subtitled, and non-dubbed Mexican film for the first time in years. The plot and dialogue were easy enough to follow so I didn't feel completely lost, and the 1970s outfits the women wore also kept me thoroughly entertained (leopard bell bottom pants while walking through the desert, really?)

"Anónimo Mortal," features El Santo, or "the Saint," played by Rodolfo Huerta, who wears his emblematic silver mask in the wrestling ring and as he goes about life, or in this film, as he helps to solve a murder mystery. 

El Santo is one of Mexico's iconic figures that many Mexican citizens identified with, said Marie Acosta, Director at La Raza Galeria Posada.

"Santo is popular because he is the working class hero - the superhero," Acosta said. "So much popular culture is exported to Mexico from the United States, he was the first to really have a collective national identity for Mexico."

"Anónimo Mortal" starts out with a bang - literally. Within the first few minutes someone is shot, which began the inquisitive crime-solving sleuthing for the film.

Certain citizens are being targeted in Mexico City, in addition, the ones targeted all receive an anonymous death threat stating that "your turn to die is next." Mario Gaos, a business man, reads about it in the paper and having just received a death threat himself says that instead of the police, "the only person who can save me is Santo."

From then on, it is up to El Santo and his crime fighting associates to investigate the murders.

I was quite surprised that despite having a Mexican wrestler as the protagonist there were actually only a few wrestling scenes. The main plot centered around the murder-mystery or classic "who-dun-it" theme. Eventually it is discovered that the murders end up being from an old Nazi extermination camp commander and other nazi's, relocated to Mexico some 25 years after the war, who wants revenge on those who testified against him in the war crimes trial.

I found the storyline easy to follow, peppered with action sequences of Santo fighting in the ring and against the vilified Nazis. The film quality was relatively grainy, and reminded me of the typical 1970s Bruce Lee action or any other adventure movie during that era. The clothes the women characters Yvette and Ester wore were very fashion-conscious during the time, with high waist jeans, chunky heels and raccoon eye makeup.

Entry and popcorn are free, beer and wine can be purchased for under $5, and donations are always graciously accepted. The Galeria has beautiful works of art in both rooms, so come by a little early and pursue the sculptures before watching the feature.

The El Santo films will continue to be shown all this week. On Thursday, Doctor Dobb, film curator, will speak on El Santo's life and legacy. The free series is sponsored by the Consulate General of Mexico.

"Santo is a national symbol," Acosta said. "It will be great to have Fred [Dobb] curating the Mexican film series and introducing people to this iconic piece of Mexican film history."

The remaining films this week are:

Tuesday: Santo y Blue Demon en la Atlántida (Santo and Blue Demon in Atlantis), subtitled
Wednesday: Santo vs. Las Lobas (Good vs. The Wolf), subtitled
Thursday: Santo en el Museo de Cera (Ghost in the Wax Museum), subtitled
Friday: Santo y Blue Demon vs. Los Monstruos (Santo and Blue Demon vs. The Monsters), not subtitled

Films begin at 7 p.m. at La Raza Galeria Posada, 1022 22nd St. in Sacramento. You can just show up for the film, or place a reservation with Michael by calling 916.446.5133, or by email at michael@larazagaleriaposada.org.