Lucha Libre is the very soul of Mexico, its imagery and heroes are carried into all areas of life in music, film, cartoons and paintings. Lucha Libre, literally ‘Free Wrestling’ or ‘Free Fight’, is an important part of Mexican culture. It is second only to football as Mexico's second-biggest spectator event and can be seen on any night of the week in at least 10 venues across Mexico City alone.

History
There are many versions of the origins of lucha libre. The generally accepted story is that in 1929, Don Salvador Lutteroth witnessed a wrestling match in Texas and decided to give it a go in Mexico. By 1933 he started the ‘Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre’.

In the beginning, many of the wrestlers were foreign, including the American Bobby Sampson and the Irishman Cyclone Mackay. Ten years later Lutteroth built the first lucha libre arena in Mexico City – Arena Coliseo.

Little by little Mexico started to produce wrestlers who over the years have become more acrobatic, theatrical and spectacular. Lutteroth was, in large part, instrumental in developing the careers of the best-known luchadores, including El Santo and Gory Guerrero.

Rudos & Técnicos
Mexican wrestlers divide into two types: rudos and técnicos. The rudos represent pure evil and rely on perfidy and trickery in order to win. Técnicos, on the other hand, represent heroic and noble qualities, and rely on their technical wrestling skill to win. They are wrestling purists and generally all-around good citizens.

“The rudos and the técnicos exist in lucha libre because they represent good and evil. Without that, it wouldn’t have its same flavour, nor would life.” El Hijo del Santo

The Mask
The mask is part of a tradition that goes back centuries in Mexico. Aztec warriors would don animal masks, in the image of jaguars or wolves, which they hoped would enable them to fight like those creatures and intimidate their enemies. The mask of a luchador is revered and admired by fans, many of whom wear replica masks while watching a match.

El Santo & Blue Demon
El Santo (“The Saint”), firmly established the mask as the identity of lucha libre and elevated the masked wrestler to the level of national superhero.

After donning his silver mask for the first time in 1942, El Santo grew to such popular culture status that he was soon a star of Mexican cinema in countless films. He was also immortalized as a comic hero.
El Santo’s archrival, Blue Demon, starred in more than 35 films and was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time.

Each of their sons take on their legacy and are the most successful luchadores in Mexico today.

Lucha Libre Style
Luchadores are traditionally more agile and perform more aerial manoeuvres than their North American counterparts. They execute high-flying moves by utilizing the wrestling ring’s ropes to catapult themselves towards their opponents, using intricate combinations in rapid-fire succession, and applying complex submission holds.

Lucha libre is also known for its tag-team wrestling matches. The teams are often made of up to three members, of which one is designated the captain. In trio matches, there are usually two referees. Generally, one is a heel referee (siding with the rudos) and one is a face referee (siding with the técnicos). Most matches are won by the winners of two out of three falls.

A successful fall in a match can be achieved by either pinning the captain of the opposing team or by pinning the other members. Falls often occur simultaneously, which adds to the extremely stylized nature of the action.

Luchas de Apuestas ‘Matches with Wagers’
With the importance placed on masks in lucha libre, losing a mask to an opponent is seen as the ultimate insult and can sometimes seriously hurt the career of the unmasking wrestler.
Putting one’s mask or their hair on the line is a tradition in lucha libre as a means to settle a heated feud between two or more wrestlers.

To lose it is to be forever humbled before your foe, and to be exposed as being too human. The moment of unmasking is the point of highest dramatic tension in Lucha Libre; it is conducted with an air of respect and dignity fitting the instant of ultimate revelation, the moment when the face of the man will emerge from beneath the mask of the character.