Luchadoras land in Durham

Lucha libre isn’t entirely foreign to American culture. We’ve seen the Mexican free wrestling in cartoons like “¡Mucha Lucha!,” movies like “Nacho Libre,” and it seems like you can’t go to any costume shop without finding a handful of the sport’s trademark colorful masks.

This Saturday, Triangle folks have the opportunity to see lucha libre live at Durham’s Motorco Music Hall. The event is simply called “Luchadoras!,” and will feature women fighting each other in the lucha libre style.

Durham artist and event planner King Kenney came up with the event as a way to balance family-friendly activities with a wider appreciation for Durham’s culture beyond its burgeoning bar scene.

“I think it’s become kind of a bar culture, and we need other things to happen,” Kenney said.

He especially wanted to draw attention to the nearby Latino and black communities, whose cultures he felt were underrepresented in the quickly-developing downtown area.

Areli Barrera de Grodski operates chocolate company Cocoa Cinnamon with her husband, and will emcee the event as La Sirenita de Tijuana (The Little Siren of Tijuana). Though she grew up around lucha libre culture, Saturday will be the first time she’s been directly involved with lucha libre.

“We’re also introducing this cultural thing to a different crowd,” she said.

“We’re inviting everyone that we know, so it’s not just going to be a Latino community that’s going to come and watch the event. This is a family event, so we’re hoping that people of all ages and whatever backgrounds come.”

Barrera de Grodski will emcee the event with Victoria Bouloubasis, a foodwriter for the Independent Weekly.

She worked with Barrera de Grodski on organizing the event, in addition to being a second emcee — La Greca (The Greek). Bouloubasis said that this event had a wide appeal, while still keeping a focus on Mexican culture.

“All of the purveyors have a connection to Mexican culture, either personally or through their products, and we want to make it as authentic as possible,” she said.

Yes, the event can be global and local all at once. Carrboro’s own Captain Poncho’s taco truck will be around with tasty authentic Mexican food, and the luchadoras’ masks are done by Fanatic Masks, a new off-shoot of screenprinting shop The Merch, which is also based in Carrboro.

The luchadoras don’t just seek to show Durham a good time: the event, too, is a fundraiser for what Kenney called “grassroots food justice efforts.” He wouldn’t go into specifics about what exactly these efforts are or who they benefit, though he hopes to expand them more — including with future luchadora events. He said the general purpose was to provide food for those in need.

Meanwhile, Boulabasis said she looks forward to the varied crowd that Luchadoras can attract both now and in the future.

“There’s just a spectrum of people who are really excited to be there, so I hope that when they are there, it’s as exciting as they anticipated,” she said.

“I really think it will be. I think it’s going to be an awesome event.”

Contact the Diversions Editor at diversions@dailytarheel.com