“Chancho, when you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. …”
- Nacho Libre
So the story goes that a group of theatre performers were trying to generate interest in their shows and having no luck. People wanted more than another lame production of Hamlet.
"Why don't we wrestle instead?", the theater director asked, "Does anyone know how?
From there the legend of Lucha Libre was born.
I am sure none of that is true, but I like to imagine it that way.
Lucha Libre is translated to ‘Free Fight”. It is a type of wrestling that was introduced here in Mexico in the early 20th century. It’s style is fast with unique holds and characterized by high flying maneuvers.
It is also unique in that the luchadores (wrestlers) wear colorful masks and give themselves unique personas.
The Luchadores are huge celebrities here. One of the most famous was “El Santo” (The Saint). His career spanned decades and he expanded into other media as a noble crime fighter and helper of the poor. He kept his identity a secret until a week before he died of old age. His unmasking made headlines here in Mexico.
Colleen and I traveled to see a match last night. Arena Mexico, here in the city, is to
wrestling what The Grand ‘Ole Opry is to country music. It is the premiere site to be a Luchador. The best in the country come here. The shows are wildly staged affairs and feature spectacular gymnastic feats.
Yes, the actual contest is fixed before hand and the bouts are staged affairs. They are displays of fantastic, over the top fight choreography. None of that matters. You go for the show. And make no mistake the physical feats displayed are real and take great skill. You can get seriously hurt.
For all the matches, most were tag team, one side would be the hero and the other the villain. The villain would start off gaining the upper hand and “cheat” with “illegal moves”. It looked like all was lost for the heroes. Yet, like any good Shakespearean tale, the good guys would rally and at the last minute and chase the villains away. The action would often spill over the ring on the floor to the delight of the crowd.
It was silly, corny, predictable, and absolutely wonderful entertainment.
We loved every minute of it.
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