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Highlands Today

Couple Massage Their Way Into Hall Of Fame

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

From left: Estrellita Izquierdo and Raul Izquierdo Sr. were partners in dancing and now have continued as partners in massage work, recently entering the Massage Hall of Fame

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By BILL RETTEW JR.

Highlands Today

Published: July 28, 2008

SEBRING - Even premature babies respond favorably to massage therapy, according to a Frostproof couple.

Married for 57 years, Estrellita and Raul Izquierdo Sr. agreed that everybody enjoys a massage, while preemies get healthier quicker.

As massage therapists with the Touch Research Institute in Miami, the Izquierdos work in the neonatal care unit.

The couple showed how they manipulate the tiny arm of a newborn, Tuesday, much like a smoker fondles a cigar.

Babies receive 15 minutes of massage, three times a day, from the Izquierdos.

"(With massage) they respond to sounds and their environment more normally," said Raul. "They have more color, sleep better, gain weight faster and go home sooner."

The husband and wife team also works wonders with world class athletes. Raul uses his fingers, hands, fists and elbows, along with the weight of his body, to enhance another body's ability to repair itself and improve circulation.

While using sports and Swedish massage, therapies including, neuromuscular, cranial sacral muscular, plus pain management, Russian sport massage and even a little bit of acupuncture, the couple help athletes perform better.

Since 1981, the couple worked the massage tables at the New York Marathon for 19 years, the Boston Marathon every year since 1984, the Goodwill Games, the Pan American Games and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

After a strain or injury, the athlete is asked what happened, what is painful and when it happened.

"There's more pressure used," said Estrellita. "Sports massage is deeper."

We have to be careful," said Raul. "Worry influences them. They can slow down because of fear and thinking about the hurt."

The pair will be honored next month at the World Massage Festival, at Panama City Beach, as inductees into the 2008 Massage Therapy Hall of Fame, created by Mike Hinkle.

The two met from a distance in New York City. Estrellita watched while Raul was performing in a Broadway musical with the New York Dance Company.

The New York City Opera dancer and native Spaniard was entranced.

"I saw him dancing on the stage, and I said, "'Who is that bouncing ball, jumping higher than anyone else?" Estrellita remembered. "I auditioned for the company so that I could be near him."

Whether it was Spanish dancing, folk dancing, Flamenco, or regional dances of Spain, the couple danced for 50,000 fans at the old Milwaukee stadium with Bob Hope and worked with Marlene Dietrich, Ray Bolger, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Durante, Robert Goulet and Patty Paige.

Estrellita described the thrill of live performance from an artist's viewpoint.

"When the applause comes, it's like ocean waves coming in," she said. "When you are doing something and people react, and either laugh or cry, you know you have gotten through to their emotions. It's a wonderful feeling to know that you have created something."

The world travelers and American citizens have lost count of how many countries they've visited, from Russia to South America, but value their adopted country.

"You have to get out of the country and see how other people live," said Raul, who was born in Venezuela. "Then you'll appreciate how this country is unique in the world. Americans are the first to help when disaster strikes with medicine, food or clothes."

The Izquierdos work from their home, and when not hitting the road in the camper, often visit homes and business in Highlands County.

For information on a massage, call 863-605-3700.

Bill Rettew Jr. can be reached at 386-5857 or at wrettew@highlandstoday.com

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