Day 21 of the 30 Day Challenge: Faceless self portrait (lucha libre)

Required childhood reading...so that explains quite a bit, huh?  As far back as I can remember, while reading I always wanted to know references without the need to look up sources.  And while I never had to read this this particular genre nor about this topic, I still wanted to know where it came from.


Well, as far as iconography goes, Mexican wrestling of the middle part of last century is a fast riser among the cultural studies set. Oh, you still haven't heard of Blue Demon?  Or El Blue, as he is affectionately referred to in the strangely mythical world of lucha libre (free wrestling)?  Your loss, for him and his brood are hilarious characters defending the truth (while spandex clad), defeating the bad guys, and well, ending up with the girl at the end of the story.  I just wish El Blue had been more attractive to appeal to my teenage whims. And no, sorry, this is not your average wrestling memorabilia. This is commodification of a cultural symbol that represents the fight of good vs. evil, of poor vs. affluence, of David vs. Goliath, with serious roots at its foundation given the numbers of fans it has accumulated across the spectrum. Unlike the over-testosteroned, muscled he-men of the World Wresting Federation and other USA leagues in the 80s, the masked men in Mexico were smallish, real and usually oppressed people overcoming tremendous obstacles in their lives. Perhaps the only parallels with their US counterparts was their love of tights and liberal use of oil on their bodies.  Who knows?

In the above picture, the book in my hands is titled 'Mondo lucha a go-go: The bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling' by Dan Madigan and its purpose is to survey the wacky world of lucha libre from its heyday in Mexico and its continuous appeal to audiences in North America and beyond.  It was given to me to write a review that never materialized, but I kept the book nonetheless. My picture has a large almost ominous overlay to the right hand side: that is the face of the heroic and ubiquitous Blue Demon, a major force to contend with in the lucha libre genre of yesteryear. However, my point here is that the image was obtained from a UK store selling its wares online. Interesting, huh?  Of course that is where it gets very entertaining for me, for I study culture, not necessarily lucha libre per se, and as a cultural studies person, well, I have to delve into everything I possibly can as nothing is truly exempt from becoming part of the habitus of a people.

So who cares about lucha libre? Well, who cares about NASCAR, or raeggeton, or photoshopping, or about any other element that defines a people? Those who practice and live and are socialized into a culture that adopts these normative concepts as part of its very fabric happen to know its significance for it is that very fabric that becomes representative of a people.

So, while I may not be a huge fan of lucha libre (don't tell that to my husband, though, he's a fan of El Blue), I can attest to the power of representation when visiting Rome last July. In the corner markets, where they sell magazines and other wares to tourists and locals alike, were hanging Mexican lucha libre masks. "Hey," said my kid, "isn't that Blue Demon's?" while pointing at a mask. "Cool," I thought as I turned to him with a smile on my face upon recognizing the source of his reference.