Lucha libre

Plaque commemorating lucha libre as an intangible cultural heritage in Mexico City

Lucha libre (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlutʃa ˈliβɾe], meaning "freestyle wrestling"[1] or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form of the genre, characterized by colorful masks, rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers, and "high-flying" maneuvers, some of which have been adopted in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. The wearing of masks has developed special significance, and matches are sometimes contested in which the loser must permanently remove his mask, which is a wager with a high degree of weight attached. Tag team wrestling is especially prevalent in lucha libre, particularly matches with three-member teams, called trios.

Although in English the term specifically refers to the Mexican style of theatrical professional wrestling, in Spanish it can refer to other kinds of wrestling, including competitive freestyle wrestling (es:lucha libre olímpica) and professional wrestling in general as well as (es:lucha libre profesional) in addition to Mexican professional wrestling in particular (es:lucha libre mexicana).

Lucha libre wrestlers are known as luchadores (singular luchador) often come from extended wrestling families who form their own stables. One such line integrated to the United States professional wrestling scene is the Los Guerreros.

On July 21, 2018, Mexican lucha libre was declared an intangible cultural heritage of Mexico City.[2]

  1. ^ "lucha libre – Definition of lucha libre in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries – English. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018.
  2. ^ "Nombran a la lucha libre como Patrimonio cultural intangible de la CDMX". El Universal (in Spanish). July 21, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2019.