Postcards From Mexico: LUCHA LIBRE, Mexico City
This week I received a ‘Postcard From Mexico‘ from Shelby, a blogger who writes at The Wayfaring Foodie. I highly recommend checking out her blog and her Instagram account.
Shelby went to see a Lucha Libre fight when she was in Mexico City. This isn’t something I’ve ever done but she certainly makes it sound interesting. Her postcard is super detailed (she wrote small!!) and will definitely help you figure out how to visit if you are so inclined.
Photo taken by Shelby but used with permission
Hi Cassie!
After spending a day visiting the canals of Xochimilco, I was ready to embrace Mexican culture to the fullest. We decided last minute that we needed to see a Lucha Libre show and this was our only chance before leaving Mexico City.
The ticket line was huge and unorganized. People were clamouring to buy luchador masks from the many vendors before trickling into the arena.
Lucha Libre (“free fight”), is Mexico’s version of professional wrestling. The colourful masks, dramatic flair, and high-flying manoeuvres have made it well known around the world. Lucha Libre is performed by luchadores, who usually come from a family of wrestlers. It is common in Lucha Libre for three-member teams, or trios, to perform. The show is broken down into several different fights and each fight involves a dramatic entrance from the opponents followed by three matches. The last fight we witnessed was a very dramatic fight involving a trio vs Mistico, also known as Carístico. Mistico was favoured by the audience and everyone was thrilled when he successfully defeated the trio.
Lucha Libre is an absolute must-see when in Mexico City. There are three places to see a lucha in Mexico City: Arena México, Arena Coliseo, and Arena Naucalpan. Arena México is the most popular and is easy to get to using Uber or the Metro. Arena México hosts luchas Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. I have heard the area around the arena can be dangerous, although I didn’t feel unsafe while we were there. I would recommend getting to the arena a little bit before the show starts, to get tickets and good seats. Bring cash to avoid slow lines. You also need a little time to put on your luchador mask and take a picture in front of the wrestlers’ promotional signs!
Hope you get to see a Lucha Libre match soon!
Shelby
If you’re heading to Mexico City then you may find my article about CDMX useful too.
If you’d like to send me a ‘postcard’ for this series, please do drop me a line as I’d love to hear from you. You don’t have to be a professional writer, you just need to have done something interesting in Mexico that you’d like to tell others about.
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