The hotheaded Mexican housewives taking on the macho world of
Lucha Libre
Hotheaded housewives in Mexico are stepping into the
wrestling ring to take on the macho world of Lucha
Libre.
A wave of women from low income families are earning their
living by smashing each other to the free-fighting canvas on a
regular basis.
The bouts pay between $10 to $200 - a pittance compared to
the lucrative contracts earned by male competitors - but in a
country where the average annual wage is $6,000.
And the sport, which is steadily growing in popularity, is
also providing an outlet for victims of domestic violence keen to
stand up to their abusers.
Fight! A wave of women from low income Mexican families are
earning their living by smashing each other to the free-fighting
canvas on a regular basis
Smackdown: Lycra-clad female wrestlers do battle on the
canvas to earn between $10 and $200 per fight
Catrina, 56, who named her character after the Calavera
Catrina 'The Elegant Skull,' began competing 27 years ago to defend
herself from her husband - and now fights five or six times each
month.
He used to beat her and then abandoned her with four
children. She did not go to school and thought wrestling was a good
way to make a living and support her family.
She said: 'I started because I was a domestic violence
abuse victim. I did it to defend myself from my husband. That's why
I started practising it.
'I was sick of the abuse. One day I went to a Lucha Libre
fight and saw that women also took part. I thought it was a good
way to defend myself.'
Out of the ring: The fights often spill into the
spectator areas
Smashing time: A spectator is unwittingly pushed out of
his chair by a wrestler, as delighted children in the audience look
on
Dama X, another fighter, said Lucha Libre was dominated by
machismo, before adding: 'There is a lot of macho behaviour in this
sport and I would like to support female wrestling.
'Women are humiliated in some fights but in most cases,
women give a good fight. Unfortunately some arenas look for youth
and beauty but not good wrestlers.'
In contrast to their male counterparts, women wrestlers
are unable to pay for medical treatment to treat injuries sustained
during battle.
Catrina needs weekly physical therapy sessions to treat a
torn ligament, and most wrestlers train for three hours per day and
sustaining an injury could place their livelihoods at
risk.
Preparation: Wrestlers apply their make-up and adjust
their costumers in the moments before battle
Let battle commence: They might look like ordinary housewives
outside of the ring, but once they cross the rope they are no-holds
barred fighters
But it is all part of the job, said Selva Slavaje, who
balances family life with her training. She said: 'I try to make
time for my training. In the morning I drop my daughter off at
kindergarten, my baby stays with me.
'We collect my child at 1 o'clock and then go to the gym.
I take food with me, I train and then go home. I help with their
homework and then we go to sleep.'
Female wrestlers or luchadoras compete in the CMLL World
Women's Championship as well as the AAA Reina de Reinas Annual
Championship. In 2000, the all female promotion company Lucha Libre
Femenil (LLF) was founded.