Nacho Libre

Anyone remember that movie? Jack Black? Si? No? I think I'm going to have to watch it again now...

Much to my chagrin, I realized Lucha Libre is not MMA fighting with masks. It is a lot cooler than WWE though. Someone in our crew described the Luchadores as 'Cirque du Soleil drop-outs', which I found super funny and seemingly accurate. Sure, there was plenty of entertaining taunting and crowd-response mechanisms, but you can't deny: Luchadores are acrobats. I saw some of these guys literally back flip out of the ring or handspring off the ropes and jump onto another guy's shoulders (they call these 'high-flying' moves). Pretty fun to watch with your friends who are dressed up in masks and capes (true gringo style), and a cold Corona in your hand. 

(High-flying Luchador above is the one featured in my #CelebritySelfie)

Historically, Mexican wrestling dates back to the mid-1800s where it was modeled after the Roman-Greco style of wrestling by Enrique Urgartechea. Once television became a channel through which to spread Lucha Libre wrestling, it grew into a nation-wide phenomenon.

In 1942, a silver-masked Luchador, El Santo (The Saint), made his debut in Mexico City and changed Lucha Libre forever. Through his masked mysteriousness and victorious 8-man battle royale (where wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared the winner), El Santo became a folk legend representing justice for the common man, and remains the greatest Luchador to date.

Early Lucha Libre masks were fairly simple, but today are vibrantly colorful and intricately designed to represent animals, gods and ancient heroes, which the Luchadores often epitomize during their performances. More recently, Lucha Libre masks have become an iconic symbol of Mexican culture, being featured in works by many contemporary artists. 

(Chihuahua Lucha!)

In authentic Luchador fashion, El Santo never removed his mask, even while in private company. One week before his death, he revealed his identity for the first and only time in his career. El Santo died February 5th, 1984 and was buried- at one of the biggest funerals in Mexican history- wearing his famous silver mask. 

You can read more on the history of Lucha Libre, here.

In case you were wondering, Nacho Libre is available for streaming on Netflix.