Lucha Libre, the Latin American sport noted for its masked, spandex-wearing, somersaulting and shirtless athletes is heading to the United States to galvanize international recognition.
With the exception of few a American Lucha Libre organizations, the sport has always existed on the fringes of US pop-culture and owes its mainstream introduction to the 2006 film Nacho Libre, starring Jack Black. But a new media partnership will promote Lucha Libre AAA – Mexico's biggest wrestling league – to a large US audience and potentially garner pay-per-view events in massive arenas and a spot on El Rey, a new English-language Latino channel set to launch next January.
If you want to be better acquainted with Luchador culture, here's our guide to Lucha Libre, complete with gifs and images:
Luchadores embody hardline masculinity while simultaneously wearing spandex tights and yes, looking quite silly
The masks that wrestlers wear also have special significance. The bright, outlandish colors and designs are often meant to pay homage to ancient traditions and spirituality. Many luchadores don't leave home without their masks. Legendary Luchador El Santo is noted for having been buried in his.
Despite their costumes and somewhat portly appearances, Luchadores are EXTREMELY athletic.
Any match will showcase the athlete's agility and aerial prowess as well as an array of spins, flips and kicks:
Lucha Libre has actually been an established cultural exponent in Latin America for nearly a century
Many luchadores come from storied wrestling families and traditions and have seen their names immortalized among the greats of the sport. Eddie Guerrero, a famous WWE wrestler in America, pictured, came from a family of luchadores who began competing in 1943.
Hopefully the venture to internationalize Lucha Libre AAA will actually give the sport mainstream notoriety in the United States. After all, there is a lot of capital backing the project.
