El veintiséis de enero/January 26th

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Photo from boxrec.com. Click HERE. 
¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Salvador Sánchez! (1959-1982)

A Mexican boxer who was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991, Sal Sánchez tragically died at the age of 23 while driving his Porsche at a high speed on a highway outside of Mexico City. He left behind his twenty-one year old wife, Maria Teresa, and two sons, sixteen month old Cristian Salvador and four month old Omar. When he died, he has just returned to Mexico from New York City, where he had successfully defended his title as World Boxing's featherweight champion, and he was training for a September fight in Madison Square Garden. Nonetheless, he has planned to retire from boxing after a year, saying, "I've already distinguished myself in boxing. Now I'd like to distinguish myself in life. I want to carry on studying [he had left school at age 14 to train] and become a doctor" (from his New York Times 1982 obituary - click HERE to read).

Sánchez is immortalized in the song Salvador Sanchez by the the American indie rock group Sun Kil Moon (named for the Korean lightweight boxer) on their 2003 Ghosts of the Highway album (click HERE to listen to the acoustic version). As they sing:

Salvador Sánchez arrived and vanished
Only 23, with so much speed
Owning the highway
Mexico City, bred so many
But none quite like him
Sweet warrior, pure magic matador

Click HERE to see some highlight's from Sánchez's boxing career, and HERE for a one minute video (in Spanish) about his life.

For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.

Other January 26th birthdays:

Juan Pablo Duarte (1813-1876). Considered the "Father of Independence" in the Dominican Republic, Duarte was a key figure in the country winning its independence from Haiti in 1844. January 26th is a holiday in the Dominican Republic because of his birthday (click HERE to see a parade on the island).


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