"Welcome to lucha libre wrestling, where villains and superheroes, most in trademark masks, fight two-out-of-three-fall battles that are part gymnastics, part vaudeville.
"In Mexico, the popularity of lucha libre, literally 'free struggle' or 'free fight,' is rivaled only by soccer. Wrestlers star not only in the ring, but in movies, comic books, commercials and magazines. Now the sport's following in this country is beginning to swell, driven by the desire of many assimilated Mexicans to reacquaint themselves with a part of their heritage and by the nostalgia more-recent arrivals have for their homeland."
Photo: Blue Demon Jr. throws Solitario out of the ring during a lucha libre wrestling match at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena last month. Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times
El Santo's first famous silver mask, which he made himself out of pigskin, is one of the many precious items on display in the small show held by the art gallery in the Ibero-American University in Lomas de Santa Fe.
Jeremy Schwartz from Cox Newspapers notes on his Uncovering Mexico blog that "Mexico is abuzz with the news" that legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong is coming to Oaxaca for the Vuelta Mexico, a 320-kilometer ride through eight Mexican states.
"But Armstrong won’t be riding, numerous Mexican media outlets report. Rather he’ll be the race’s honorary 'godfather' and give the starting signal for the race’s first leg."
Armstrong is also tentatively scheduled to meet with President Felipe Calderon sometime before the March 1 race.
El Santo, the legendary lucha libre fighter and movie star, was remembered fondly in Mexico yesterday, 25 years after his death.
A Mass was held in his honor in the Metropolitan Cathedral Thursday afternoon, followed by the presentation of a new book about his career by his son -- El Hijo del Santo (Son of Santo), also a lucha libre fighter.
The son, Jorge Guzman, placed a wreath of flowers at a monument to El Santo in downtown Mexico City and told the crowd that El Santo was a man with a lot of magic who threatened to overshadow his own career but that "fortunately, I have won the love and respect of the public myself."
Gustavo Arellano reviews two books in the Los Angeles Times, one looks at Mexican culture in the United States, and the other takes on the classic Mexican sport, Lucha Libre.
"Macías crams his book with riches of information -- dates, names, long-gone establishments like Venice's Aragon Ballroom and the Trianon -- but its writing unfortunately becomes rote after a while. It's as if the UC Riverside professor decided to sacrifice style in favor of information; that might work for a tome suited for an academic audience, but for a topic that's so accessible, it's unfortunate that Macías didn't spend more time working on his prose."
"This book entertains, informs and breezes by, although Levi ends on a depressing note, pointing out that lucha libre itself is becoming trendy in Mexico -- thus losing much of the sociopolitical layers that made it so popular and potent," writes Arellano. Read the full reviews here.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City
Photo: A lucha libre fighter falls to his knees during a bout in Mexico City's Arena Coliseo. Credit: Deborah Bonello / Los Angeles Times.
Argentina soccer hero Diego Maradona, famed in Britain for his “Hand of God” goal against England during the 1986 World Cup, could have been the cause of a fire scare in Manchester, England, over the weekend before the Chelsea club was due to take on Manchester United.
According to Tribal Football, Maradona's love of Cuban cigars was said to be behind the evacuation of Manchester's Radisson Edwardian Hotel at 7 a.m. Sunday, just nine hours before kickoff at Old Trafford.
After the hotel's smoke alarms went off, Chelsea's players had to wait outside in bitterly cold conditions for 40 minutes before they could return to their rooms. Chelsea went on to be defeated by Manchester United 3-0. Argentina coach Maradona was in Manchester to watch Carlos Tevez, a striker from his own team who plays for Manchester United.
The British newspaperThe Sun quotes a firefighter at the scene saying: "It looks as though it was set off by Diego and his entourage smoking cigars on the 14th floor."
Topic No. 1 regarding Manny Pacquiao's decision to fight Oscar De La Hoya at 147 pounds is the jump in weight -- some 12 pounds greater than the Philippine star's current standing as world lightweight champion, and a staggering 41 pounds greater than Pacquiao's pro debut bout at 106 as a 17-year-old.
Pacquiao calls it a "non-issue."
"It's muscle, not fat," Pacquiao says, crediting training and nutrition techniques. "And I won't lose any speed. Speed can be developed in training, and that's what I'm doing."
Considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Pacquiao is walking around now near 150 pounds. He's buoyed by information from his trainer and promoters and is convinced he'll extend his current eight-fight winning streak that includes victories over Mexican stars Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.
"You've never seen me like this," Oscar De La Hoya says loudly, lying on his back on the boxing ring canvas of a Big Bear Lake training gym. "You'll never see me like this."
If the strategy De La Hoya refined in the San Bernardino Mountains works as planned, the person he expects to be flat on his back on Dec. 6 is his opponent, Manny Pacquiao.
De La Hoya, 35, hasn't knocked down a fighter in more than two years, and he hasn't won by a true knockout since 2000, when he belted the forgotten Derrell Coley. In 11 fights since, De La Hoya suffered four losses and the most impressive of his four technical knockouts came against Fernando Vargas in 2002.
But now, De La Hoya, who has fought at or above 150 pounds in nine consecutive bouts, has a date with current lightweight (135-pound) champion Pacquiao in a bout set at 147 pounds. It was a match made mostly because of the can't-miss marketing appeal that pits the world's most popular fighter against the sport's top pound-for-pound champion.
Photo: Oscar De La Hoya, photographed during an open workout at his training camp in Big Bear, is preparing for his Dec. 6 fight against Manny Pacquiao. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press
Diego Armando Maradona got off to a successful start as a national team coach on Wednesday when Argentina defeated Scotland, 1-0, in Glasgow in one of 46 international games played worldwide.
The 1986 World Cup winner had winger Maxi Rodriguez to thank for launching the second Maradona era in the right fashion.
"El Tri" managed to make it through because it held the score down in rain-drenched San Pedro Sula and because Jamaica could not conjure up enough goals in Kingston, where it defeated Canada, 3-0.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City
Photo: Argentina's Maxi Rodriguez, second from right, scores past goalkeeper Allan McGregor of Scotland on Wednesday. Credit: Paul Thomas / Associated Press
"I have not at any moment had doubts that Mexico would be at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010."
So said Sven-Goran Eriksson a week ago, and now comes the moment of truth for Mexico's Swedish-born coach.
If his team loses to Honduras in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Wednesday and Jamaica defeats Canada by a large enough margin in Kingston, Mexico will not be going to the World Cup and Eriksson very likely would be on the first flight back to Stockholm.
Lance Pugmire reports:
Chris Kraul
Mexico City:
Deborah Bonello
Ken Ellingwood
San Diego:
Richard Marosi
Washington:
Nicole Gaouette