Lucha libre brings the action to San Benito County
Many great wrestlers have started their careers wrestling in
middle school gyms and veterans halls across the nation, honing
that persona they have created with every drop kick, body slam and
belt buckle to the head.
Lucha libre brings the action to San Benito County
Many great wrestlers have started their careers wrestling in middle school gyms and veterans halls across the nation, honing that persona they have created with every drop kick, body slam and belt buckle to the head.
Last weekend locals had a chance to see some wrestlers try out their personas in front of 300 people as the masked maulers of Lucha Libre Mexicana took part in high flying and stunt defying wrestling acrobatics. The event at Marguerite Maze Middle School raised money for the Hollister Youth Alliance.
Outside the gym children donned their favorite Lucha Libre masks and held handmade signs. They were eager for the mayhem that is lucha libre to begin, and got a sneak peek of some of the maulers as they stopped to pose for pictures and sign autographs.
“They’re having fun and they’re not in there yet,” said Xavier Alvarez.
Alvarez, a Hollister resident and fan of lucha libre wrestling, said he didn’t know if the event would be sold out.
“Events like this are big,” Alvarez said. “I had to make sure I got my tickets in advance. My son’s been talking about this for the past month.”
The event started off with authentic American wrestling, stunning the mostly Mexican-populated crowd into an awkward silence. In the style of WWE a strapping surfer-looking dude with blonde hair in long tights and tall wrestling boots battled a muscular court jester. The crowd was less than enthusiastic about the first match. They may have expected their masked heroes to blast out from behind the curtain in their colorful capes and robes, yelling in their native tongue. But the surfer dude broke the awkwardness when he began sprinting around the gym throwing out high fives and being as wild as a teen on red bull.
After the muscular court jester stumbled back behind the curtain to recover from the severe blow to the head that laid him out for a three-count, a tag team match of three on three lucha libres was the real kick off for the crowd.
Five masked men and one flamboyant acting unmasked wrestler body slammed, slapped, scratched and leapt from the top ropes onto their opponents. At one point one wrestling stood before the crowd and pretended to be delirious. Another wrestler stood on the top buckle, 10 to 15 feet in the air. As he jumped on an opponent and into the audience, spectators leaped out of their chairs in the first four rows to get out of the way.
El Rey Tigre, one of the five masked maulers wrestling in the first full fledge fight of the night, dons a tattoo of a tiger on his chest and wears a set of vivid contacts that give him tiger eyes – split down the middle with a black line, one side is red and one is yellow.
“I enjoy wrestling for the kids,” El Rey Tigre said. “I also enjoy wrestling for my country.”
After half an hour of body slinging, El Rey Tigre and his band of good guys raised their arms in victory. As each match went on, each wrestler and wrestling match became advanced in its moves and its show.
During a fifteen intermission wrestlers came out and were more than generous with there time posing for pictures, signing autographs and talking with children and adults alike.
Jose Ruiz, a bright-eyed adolescent, was on the prowl for these small treasures that kids hold dear to them for years.
“One, two, three, four, five and more in my pocket,” said Ruiz, counting the autographs he had collected.
He then scurried off when Chicano Flame walked out from behind the curtain to sign his share of autographs.
John Godoy wore his silver lucha libre mask the entire night cheering on all the fights and fighters and waved his sign.
“I like the good guys,” Godoy said.
Diane Ortiz, executive director of the Hollister Youth Alliance, spent the night hustling, bustling and doing acrobatic moves of her own to make sure the night’s events ran smoothly for the crowd at Marguerite Maze Middle School.
“I’m just happy it went well,” said Ortiz. “It was nice to bring this to the families.”
