Lucha Libre ………………..Mystery unrevealed
Sight of two humans punching at each other was
shown on the idiot box . I looked sternly at my pre-school going nephew. He
defended my glance by a cherry smile and said ; "you like Lucha
Libre"? A click through my brain, "What is that"? It definitely
sounded like Greek and Latin .Still, like all the typical elderly Indians; I
too boggled to accept my ignorance. In a split of a second I shouted back,
"I don’t want you to watch all this violence ". His smile faded and
he frowned, the same frown I gave when my Grandpa asked me to stop digging the
earth in my backyard. I managed to tackle the situation, thanks to Quality
Walls and its chocolate cornetto.
It was then that I came to the point.”Ok now Kevin,
tell me why you like all this hitting and beating games"?
He looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes and told me,"Ramayana
has violence and so does Mahabharatha when i read those stories nobody are
bothered .Just when I sit to watch a WWF match all the protestors come with
pluck cards.[Yes. True this is a lot because we learn a lot from our present
day politicians to react late or and at
the wrong occasion ].We had a chat lasting more than an hour regarding his so call
Lucha Libre.
It was then I came to know that Lucha Libre is a Mexican art form of
wrestling. Its history dates back to the 1930s .The father of Lucha Libre was Don
Salvadon Luttercroth .He himself was a "luchadore"[Mexican term used
to describe a wrestler].Now let us climb into the ring and explore the world of
Lucha Libre from its rules and stars to the cultural influences that underlie
its spectacle. Some luchadores take their Lucha Libre identify outside the
ring, keeping their mask on when in fresh air. The wrestlers in this game wear
a mask on and this symbolises their identity. Since the beginning of time,
every society’s mythology has included battles between good and evil that
determines the future of mankind. (Had to agree to him) .Lucha Libre too have
their heroes and villains on the dice. Popular luchadores who represent Aztec
warriors , Christian Saints ,who fight for common man are tecnicos.The villans
literally used to spit at the dark side of Mexico by depicting the corrupt
politicians , crooked police officers .They are called the rudhos (If Indians
had a chance in Lucha Libre we could have made an army of it.)
The rules not similar to American
wrestling which is more or less a well scripted drama . Lucha Libre accepts
four basic patterns of winning.
Ø Pinning
the opponent to the mat .
Ø Knocking
him out of the ring
Ø Performing
an illegal move and removing and removing an opponent’s mask.
The basic game
is divided into different weight classes :
v Light
weight
v Heavy
weight
v Welter
weight
Luchadores are traditionally more
agile and perform more aerial maneuvers than professional wrestlers in the U.S.
who more often rely on power and hard strikes to subdue their opponents. The
difference in styles is due to the independent evolution of the sport in Mexico
beginning in the 1930s and the fact that luchadores in the cruiserweight
division (peso semicompleto) are often the most popular wrestlers in Mexican
lucha libre. Luchadores execute characteristic high flying attacks by using the
wrestling ring's ropes to catapult themselves towards their opponents, using
intricate combinations in rapid-fire succession, and applying complex
submission holds.
