Lucha Libre

This Is Rad!

Mucha Lucha! This week Kyle and Matthew sit down with graphic design/tattoo artist J. Gonzo (http://jgonzodesigns.com/) and author Keith Rainville (frompartsunknown.com) to talk about the art of Mexican wrestling: Lucha Libre. First, Gonzo talks tattoos, his history of giving them, and the scary ways to get 'em. Turns out Kyle has a lot of friends with prison tattoos, which should surprise no one. Natalie also gets upset because Gonzo has offered to give Kyle his long sought after “Slow Ride” tattoo. But that is a story for another day. The boys get down to business and discuss the history and cultural significance of Lucha Libre wrestling. They talk about how Nacho Libre was many Americans' first exposure to Lucha culture. Gonzo defends the film for all its flaws and points out a few ways that the film could have gone from third-tier Jack Black movie to legit love letter to Lucha wrestling. Speaking of movies, Kyle picks Keith's brain about the history of Luchadores on film. For those who don't know, Luchador films are an amazingly weird genre where you can watch a man in a mask fight guys dressed like Dracula. Believe it or not, that's something Kyle is SUPER into. Burnside, as the host most well versed in wrestling, works to understand the differences between American and Luchador wrestling. Gonzo and Keith also explain how the styles diverged and evolved over time and how Luchadore wrestling plays into the identity of Mexican culture. Keith talks about his history with Lucha Libre and the Lucha zines he published throughout the '90s. They talk about '90s zine culture and how zines about specific subcultures found their way around the world in a time before the internet. Both Gonzo and Keith's lives and careers have been massively affected by Lucha culture, and they share some experiences from their own lives that are pretty incredible. Get ready for some high flying moves, mysterious characters, and masked men punching werewolves in the face. This episode has everything! Viva!

Weekly Rads: White Reaper, Prey, Cowboy Bebop

Raddendums: Love and Rockets, Latino Comics Expo, Lucha Mexico, Tales of Masked Men, Santo vs. the Vampire Women, Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards, Champions of Justice, Nacho Libre, Lucha Lucha, Sonámbulos, Lucha Underground, Fantastic Planet, Los Straightjackets