History & Culture
The History of Lucha Libre in Mexico
From the first professional promotion in 1933 to a living tradition of masks and rivalries.
Professional lucha libre took shape in Mexico in 1933, when Salvador Lutteroth founded the Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, today known as CMLL.
Over the following decades it developed its own language: high-flying technique, the moral divide between rudos and técnicos, and the mask as a sacred identity.
Today lucha libre is part of Mexico's popular culture — in arenas, cinema, comics and street markets.
