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제목 [북미] Lucha Libre

  • 조회수
    725
  • 작성일
    2020-12-22
  • 첨부
Name Lucha Libre
Alternative Names “freestyle wrestling”
Origin Mexico
Main Techniques Grappling
Weapons N/A
Purpose of Practice Martial Games
Type of Origination Transmitted
Degree of Sportification National
Yes (Year: )      No
General Information Lucha Libre (meaning free-style wrestling) is the Spanish name for a style of professional wrestling from Mexico. The contestants wear colourful, personalised masks to keep their identity secret while creating a character encaptivating the public. Many wrestlers (luchadores) become real icons with a big fan base. Wrestlers take on a stage name which is reflected in their costume (Williams 2015: 179). Techniques are generally quick and acrobatic. In some cases the loser is required to remove his mask permanently, thus revealing his real face and identity. In 2018 the Mexico City government recognised lucha libre as intangible cultural heritage of Mexico City (San Miguel Times 2018). With its extravagance and storytelling abilities lucha libre has been part of many Mexican movies as well as some Hollywood pictures (Williams 2015: 180).
History/Development In 1863 Enrique Ugartecha developed the art of ‘free-style’ wrestling based on Greco-Roman wrestling. After that wrestling gained popularity through promotion and a big-scale approach by the Mexican Wrestling Foundation EMLL (now the World Wrestling Council). In the second half of the 20th century television helped to bring lucha libre it’s fame. A second factor was the rising of the wrestling star El Santo who stepped into the ring in 1942, winning the battle. He became the most famous luchador lucha libre would know and had a career of over 40 years. A week before his dead he removed his mask on national television, until then his face had never been seen in public (Gaskell 2015).
Transmission
(Policies/institutions)
Lucha libre wrestlers usually come from wrestling families with their own wrestling tradition.
Relevant Organisations - Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL, World Wrestling Council)
Additional Materials - “Nacho Libre” is a 2006 comedy film starring Jack Black who becomes a luchador.
References - Williams, V. (2015). Weird Sports and Wacky Games around the World: from Buzkashi to Zorbing, p. 179-180.
- San Miguel Times. (2018). “Lucha Libre declared Mexico’s ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’”, San Miguel Times. https://sanmigueltimes.com/2018/07/lucha-libre-declared-mexicos-intangible-cultural-heritage/
- Gaskell, K. (2015). “Lucha libre – an introduction to Mexican wrestling” Lonely Planet https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/lucha-libre-an-introduction-to-mexican-wrestling