Out & About

by Tom Bishop

Acrobatic giants in terrifying masks will grapple, throw and pin each other into submission to defend their name and entertain the crowd in the process.

The Roundhouse in Camden is hosting Lucha Libre London, a colourful and explosive battle between 16 of Mexican’s finest professional wrestlers, known as “luchadores”.

It is the UK’s first taste of authentic lucha libre – translated as “free fight”, referring to its variety of moves – and these guys mean business.

Lucha libre dates back to 1933 as Mexico’s acrobatic and spectacular take on standard North American wrestling. It is second only to football as the country’s biggest spectator sport.

Its popularity turned luchadores into national icons, where they are worshipped as superheroes, appear in movies, on stamps and in their own cartoon series.

Two of Mexico’s best-known luchadores - the silver-masked El Hijo del Santo and Blue Demon Jr, each with their own jaw-stopping signature moves and revered wrestling heritage – are among those coming to London.

‘Caught up in fights’

Each fight pits heroic, rule-abiding wrestlers called “tecnicos” against “pure evil” wrestlers known as “rudos”, who have no qualms about landing prohibited blows on their opponents when the referee’s back is turned.

That in itself can be difficult, as Mexican wrestling features two referees – one who favours the tecnicos and one who favours the rudos.

Hijo Del Santo

“This just recognises the inherent bias in refereeing,” explains Mr Wood. “Here each side has its own referee, so there’s a genuine balance.

“Unfortunately the referees do tend to get caught up in the fights themselves, and sometimes there seem to be more people in the ring than outside it.”

Luchadores seem particularly fond of throwing themselves at opponents from the wrestling ring’s highest ropes, perhaps following it up with a crush, a spin or a flying somersault headbutt.

“There’s a lot of spontaneity in Mexican wrestling but all the luchadores need to know their opponent’s favourite moves to avoid being seriously injured,” says Mr Wood.

“When 200-kilo guys fly through the air at each other, it could get painful.”

Ultimate shame

In this world of mysterious icons, the ultimate way to humiliate your opponent is to remove his mask and reveal his true identity. The shame often requires the wrestler to lay low before returning with a new alter ego.

An old score may be settled this weekend, as the brooding Silver King plans to avenge his unmasking at the hands of El Hijo del Santo 20 years ago.

“Silver King has got a lot bigger than he was then, so maybe now’s the time,” says Mr Wood.

By pure coincidence the wrestling weekend coincides with Pride London, when equally muscular gay men will march through the capital with other gay men and lesbians to a Trafalgar Square rally.

Mr Wood says the popularity of gay luchadore Cassandro, who practises a burlesque brand of wrestling known as “exotico”, proves lucha libre has a wide and diverse following.

“In what you would think of as one of the most macho of sports, in one of the most macho of countries, there is a lot of acceptance of exotico wrestling,” says Mr Wood.

As Cassandro himself says: “We don’t only do glamour, we know how to wrestle – to take big bumps.”

London won’t know what’s hit it.

Lucha Libre London is at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1, from Friday 4 July until Sunday 6 July.