Lucha Libre in Mexico City
A Live Mexican Wrestling Match is a Must-See Cultural Experience
Apr 18, 2008
Lucha Libre is a complicated world with its own history, traditions, lineage, and inside knowledge. But you don't have to be able to discern the nuances to enjoy the body-slamming, impressive acrobatics, and good old-fashioned melodrama of a Mexican wrestling match. Even the most inexperienced visitor can be drawn into the excitement. This is a fun activity to check out if you're visiting Mexico City and looking for something offbeat yet culturally relevant.
Lucha Libre - The Fight Between Good and Evil
Even if you don’t know that the "good guys" are called téchnicos and the "bad guys" are called rudos, you'll definitely know which are which, from the moment they come charging into the arena. The bad guys dress in black, fight dirty, and might even turn on the referee and toss him out of the ring entirely if they get angry enough. Keep an eye out for out of control luchadores who might come tumbling out into the audience and start hitting each other with chairs.
Knowledge of Spanish isn't necessary to enjoy the fun - what's going on is perfectly clear - but it will certainly help you appreciate the colorful and profane turns of phrase being shouted and chanted by the audience to the wrestlers, the wrestlers to the audience and the audience to the ref, the wrestlers to the ref... and so on. Neither do you need Spanish to understand the shrieking of airhorns from the fenced-in cheap seats way up overhead.
Lucha Libre Matches
There are several individual and tag-team matches per event, with the most hotly anticipated matches held at the end. By the way, don’t expect the rudos to wait for a tag before piling into the ring. In fact, don’t even expect them to stay out of the ring when their match is over. Position yourself near the luchadores' entrance and you might get a hand slap from one of the masked wrestling stars as they come running in.
Some Spanish that might help you: the man wandering about shouting, "refrescos, cervezas, refrescos, cervezas..." is selling cold beer and soda. And the one yelling, "tortas" is selling Mexican sandwiches. You can also get plenty to eat before or after the show at the food stalls set up just outside the arena.
Cameras are officially prohibited and the rule is enforced, but you will see plenty of audience members snapping photos with their cell phones.
Where to See Lucha Libre in Mexico City
In Mexico City, Luchadores and luchadoras (yes, there are female wrestlers too!) battle it out on Friday evenings at the Arena Mexico and Tuesday evenings at the smaller Arena Coliseo.
Arena Mexico is located just east of the Zona Rosa at Dr. Levista 189, Colonia Doctores, between Metro stations Cuauhtemoc and Baldreas.
Arena Coliseo is located north of the zocalo in the Centro Historico, at República de Perú and República de Chile, between Metro stations Allende and Lagunilla.
Prices vary by seat and by venue, with the most expensive ringside seats priced under $20 US per ticket.
If you can read Spanish or have good powers of deduction, you can buy tickets in advance (and for a bit more money) on Ticketmaster.mx.
For more information on lucha libre, check out the websites of the two major lucha libre organizations in Mexico: The Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) - and Triple A .
