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.