Lucha libre – ”free fighting”, is Latin American wrestling, a combination of sport, show and violence. It is a fight between “tecnicos” and “rudos” –between “good” and “evil”, where either the good or evil wins, so the never ending duel can continue in the next comming shows. The fights are choreographed and the winner picked in advance, but the fights are all at once fascinating, surreal, brutal, fake and serious. The audience loves it. They shout each time their favourite luchador hits his opponent and applaud every acrobatic jump and spectacular stunts.
The sport is extremely popular in Mexico and has been a part of Mexican culture since the 1930’s. Later its popularity exploded when the fights was show on TV.
Films with wrestlers in the leading roles as heroes and villains transformed the wrestlers into real superheroes, unlike Superman, these wrestlers are real people, that you can experience battle in Mexico's many arenas.
All over Mexico new talent dream of making it in this bizarre world, where fame and money rain on the biggest stars. But lucha libre is no fast track to fame, if you don’t have the right contacts. And far from all fights take place in the grand arenas - most of them are fought in small ramshackle places stripped of glamour and with only a few spectators.
In recent years new extreme shows, ”Lucha extrema”, are becoming increasingly popular in Mexico. These fights resemble real street fights, and it’s difficult so to see the difference between show and violence. The wrestlers fight in glass, barbed wire and fire. They cut themselves and each other, making the blood flow to create spectacular and sensational shows. The audience shout for more and challenge the wrestlers to be more extreme. Giving themselves 100 percent the wrestlers destroy their bodies, because each fight might bring them one step closer to the big shows and stardom.
