A colorful lucha libre mask hanging for sale somewhere may provoke thoughts of wrestling—but the truth is that lucha libre is much more than just wrestling. Yes, there are still body slams, but the form of Mexican wrestling has roots going back to the 1860s—and its impact on Latino culture goes far beyond the ring.
For more than a year, Agua Caliente Cathedral City has been hosting Viva La Lucha events, during which a ring is set up in the Agave Caliente Terraza. The next event is happening at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 4—and it may be the last local Viva La Lucha event for a while. The lucha events are run by Masked Republic LLC, a company focusing on “the emerging growth market of lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) beyond the borders of Mexico.” For more information, visit maskedrepublic.com.
During a recent phone interview with Masked Republic founder and CEO Ruben Zamora, he explained how his career in lucha libre events began.
“I grew up in Los Angeles; my parents were Mexican, and I had two older brothers who didn’t like hanging out with me, so my dad would take me to the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, and that’s where I first came across lucha libre,” Zamora said. “For me and a lot of other Mexicans, Latino kids, my superhero was never Spider-Man or Batman; it was always the wrestlers, the luchadores with the capes and the masks and the shiny outfits. When I got to see them live and in person, it just blew my brain off.
“We would later move to San Diego. … Right across the border from San Diego was Tijuana, and they were running shows Fridays and Sundays religiously, every week. I would end up going all the time, and to me, it was awesome, because you could go up to them; you could touch their arms and pat them, and they would say hi to you and shake your hand and tap my head because I was a little kid, and it was just crazy to see these, like, superheroes come to life.”
As an adult, Zamora got reintroduced to the world of lucha libre by chance.
“I was a police officer in San Diego, and one of the secretaries there knew a luchador, Rey Misterio Sr., and she was going to see him wrestle in Tijuana that night,” he said. “I hadn’t gone in about 10 or 12 years … so I went, and I met Rey Misterio Sr. He had just opened up a new gym, a lucha libre gym, and I hated going to 24 Hour Fitness—I’d get bored on the treadmill—so I started training lucha libre with Rey Misterio Sr., Psicosis and all these new kids who would later become luchadores, just because I wanted to stay in shape. I wasn’t trying to be a luchador, but I was running around the ring and the ropes, and to me, it was the coolest thing ever, and I stayed in shape for my police career.”
He wound up getting into the lucha libre business somewhat accidentally.
“This was before social media, before Twitter or Facebook, so if you were a U.S. promoter, and you wanted to get ahold of a Mexican luchador, you’d have to call them at home—you had to know their phone number, and if you don’t speak Spanish, it’s kind of hard to do,” Zamora said. “If you’re Mexican, but you’re trying to get to the U.S., you’ve got to connect with the promoters, but if you don’t know English, it’s kind of hard to do. … I spoke English and Spanish, so every time the crew from Tijuana would go somewhere to wrestle, they would give the promoters my number, so I unofficially became the booker, the agent, of Rey Sr., Psicosis and a lot of the crew from Tijuana. Then other wrestlers started coming to me, and I kind of became that bridge between Mexico and the U.S.”
He was introduced to his future business partner, Kevin Kleinrock, through legendary luchador Konnan.
“Kevin has been involved in American-style wrestling since he was like 15 years old,” Zamora said. “He did everything from writing reviews at the local paper to ring-announcing to (being a) guest timekeeper. He started seeing the writing on the wall, that there was this great world of luchadores and lucha libre that had never been done right in the U.S., so he was looking to get into that type of business. He and I were introduced by Konnan, and we got together and put our brains together, and we came up with Masked Republic. We started off doing live events in San Diego … and now we’re into licensing and IP (intellectual property) representation. We help luchadores get their work visas and their trademarks … and we are the one stop shop for all things lucha libre. We do movie and TV consulting, video games—everything that has to do with lucha libre, we are in it or have our hands in it one way or another.”
Bringing an authentic lucha libre experience to fans is the most important thing for Zamora, he said.
“I get goosebumps talking about it. … I like sitting back and seeing the kids and how they react,” he said. “(The wrestlers) were guys who I would see on TV, but I’ve known these guys for so long that we’re friends now, so I never want to lose that feeling of excitement, and I get that feeling seeing how other people react to them. When I was 10 years old, that was me in the front row trying try to tap the wrestlers as they walked by, trying to get an autograph or a photo, so to me, that’s my biggest joy. … I want these kids to grow up remembering that they went to these lucha libre events in Cathedral City or San Diego or Chicago or wherever we’re at, and be able to tell the stories I tell.”
A while back, Agua Caliente Cathedral City reached out to Masked Republic to bring lucha to the desert for an all-ages crowd.
“Our first show we ran, I think they only had, like, 300 chairs, and I think the tickets were only, like, $5,” Zamora said. “… We showed up, and there were no tickets left, and there were people trying to buy tickets, and there were no more chairs to put up. People were standing outside in the parking lot trying to get a view of the ring. I told (Agua Caliente), ‘You’ve got people outside who couldn’t get in; maybe you should put up some more chairs, and the tickets should maybe be around $20.’ After the first show, we sat down and had a plan of how the shows should be run, and what else they could do to provide a better atmosphere.”
Zamora said audiences have consistently grown.
“The casino has been killer to work with, and the community has come out in ways that we’d never thought (possible),” he said. “I think now we’re doing 750 people, and it’s … sold out every single time. The support from the community has been beyond what we ever expected, and way more than what we were doing with bigger stars. I just think it hits home. We bring in real luchadores from Mexico, the ones you would see on TV … and then we bring some of the best young talent from California, like the high flyers and the more exciting wrestling, and we package it for everybody. … They set up a beer garden, tacos and churros and corn, and it’s a real Mexican lucha libre atmosphere.”
But as of this writing, the upcoming Viva La Lucha show will be the final one hosted at Agua Caliente Cathedral City, Zamora said.
“From what I was told, they had new management come in, and they don’t want anything that brings in kids,” he said. “I told them that ‘if you’re going to try to do these shows for 21 and older, it’s not going to work.’ I said, ‘I’ll come back, and you guys can pay us to run the show, but it’s not going to be as successful as the whole family atmosphere.’ We’re really bummed about it, but we had a great run, and hopefully in a couple of months, they’ll reconsider and bring us back.”
Fear not, for Viva La Lucha is going out with a bang! The May 4 show at Agua will be headlined by a feud involving two lucha icons.
“The headliner is Atlantis, who’s probably the most successful lucha as far as winning masks,” Zamora said. “In lucha libre, the biggest feud is mask versus mask, where the losing luchador has to unmask, and he can never wear a mask again. People know who he is, and you have to give your real name. … He’s been wrestling for probably 40 years, and he’s won at least 40 to 50 masks. He’s a legend in Mexico, and one of his arch rivals is El Felino. Now both of their kids are wrestling, so we’re doing Atlantis and Atlantis Jr. vs El Felino and Felino Jr. It’s a classic family feud. For people to see a superstar like Atlantis and El Felino, and the next generation of them, is rare—because they don’t come to the U.S. a whole lot.”
Viva La Lucha: Lucha Libre Mexicana will take place at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 4, at Agua Caliente Cathedral City, 68960 E. Palm Canyon Drive. Tickets start at $25. For more information, visit aguacalientecasinos.com.
