Lucha Libre

Professional wrestling is known as lucha libre in Latin America, which translates to “free fighting.” Since being introduced to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has evolved into a distinct subgenre, distinguished by vivid masks, quick successions of holds and maneuvers, and “high-flying” techniques, some of which have been imported to the United States, Japan, and other countries. Masks now hold a special significance, and sometimes matches are contested with the condition that the loser must take off his mask permanently. This is a wager with a lot of stakes. In lucha libre, tag team wrestling is highly common, especially in trio matches, which include three-person teams.

A fond childhood memory of mine was waking up early on a Sunday morning, grabbing a box of sugary cereal, and scanning the tv guide (remember those?). All this in hopes of finding Mexican wrestling films. Superhero Mexican wrestlers (luchadors) fighting zombies and vampires were an absolute delight to me, still are. El Santo is one of the most famous and iconic Mexican luchadores and has been referred to as one of “the greatest legends in Mexican sports”. His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became a folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in lucha films and comic books telling fictionalized stories of El Santo fighting for justice. He starred or co-starred in at least 54 movies between 1958 and 1982.

My favorite of all these luchadors was the Blue Demon. I just knew if he was in the film, it was going to be awesome. He starred as the leader of a squadron of masked superheroes known as Los Campeones Justicieros (The Champions of Justice). My favorite of all the luchadors films is Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters. To foil his plan for world domination, wrestling superheroes El Santo and Blue Demon battle the mad Dr. Halder and his army of reanimated monsters. Cool right?