Espanto III

Espanto III

Vázquez wearing the distinctive Espanto mask, from the cover of a wrestling magazine in 1964
Birth name	Miguel Vázquez Bernal
Born	(1940-02-11)February 11, 1940 Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico
Died	December 8, 1996(1996-12-08) (aged 56) Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Cause of death	Heart attack
Children	Espanto IV and V (sons)
Family	José Eusebio Vázquez Bernal (brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Mickey Vázquez Espanto III "Miguel Vázquez Cisneros"
Debut	before November 13, 1962
Retired	1984

Miguel "Miguelito" Vázquez Bernal (February 11, 1940 – December 8, 1996), was a Mexican luchador or professional wrestler known under the ring name Espanto III ("Terror 3"). During his career in lucha libre he formed a long running, successful trio known as Los Espantos ("The Terrors") with his brother José Eusebio Vázquez Bernal (known as Espanto I) and Fernando Cisneros Carrillo (Espanto II).

Los Espantos was one of the first examples of an identical trio, where all three members of the team used the same name, mask and wrestling gear only distinguished by a number. After his retirement he trained his sons for a professional wrestling career, and the later followed in his footsteps as Espanto IV and Espanto V.

Miguel Vázquez Bernal, known as "Miguelito" to his friends and family, was born on February 11, 1940 in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. He was seven years younger than his brother José Eusebio and possibly had more siblings. José Eusebio became a professional wrestler or luchador around 1953, which inspired his younger brother to later follow in his footsteps.

Miguel Vázquez trained for his professional wrestling career in the local wrestling school in Torreón, the same place where his brother José Eusebio first wrestled. He worked as "Mickey Vázquez" in the early 1960s, but records are unclear as to when he made his debut.

In 1958 or 1959 José Eusebio had begun working as "El Espanto" ("The Terror") and a short time after José Eusebio's best friend Fernando Cisneros Carrillo adopted the character Espanto II, becoming a regular tag team known as Los Espantos. By November 1962 both Espanto I and Espanto II had lost their maks in Lucha de Apuestas, or bet matches. At this point Miguel Vázquez donned the distinctive black and white mask of Los Espantos and became Espanto III. With the addition of Espanto III Los Espantos' became a regular trio, and one of the first to work as an "identical trio" by using the same name with only numbers to distinguish themselves, a tradition that still exists in lucha libre. Initially he mainly supported Espanto I and II as they fought against rivals El Santo and Rubén Juárez respectively, serving as their corner man during Lucha de Apuestas , or "bet matches". Not long after his debut as Espanto III, he won his first Lucha de Apuestas, defeating Javier Escobedo on a show in Guadalajara, Jalisco, forcing Escobedo to be shaved bald.