Gustavo’s Vazquez upbeat documentary Que Viva La Lucha takes us on an exciting journey to the inner world of Mexican wrestling.

In this documentary we can arguably state that Tijuana is at the forefront of one of Mexico’s spectator sports, Lucha Libre. Recently El Tecolote interviewed Gustavo Vazquez.

Why did you decide to do this documentary?
I was fueled by childhood fascination, growing up with El Santo in the 60’s, but also interested in the social ritual, specifically the double lives it embodies. These luchadores have basic daytime jobs, they are part of the working class, yet in the ring they transform into super heroes or villains. They are in it because of the passion, not because of the money — that’s why they have second jobs”.

Was it very difficult to make this documentary?
Lucha Libre in Tijuana was very welcoming of this project; the challenge was the logistical aspect such as level of production and the complex sound waves, as in most spectator sports.

What do you expect the impact to be?
The impact aims at shedding light on people’s curiosity about Lucha Libre, from the meaning of the mask to the social aspect. The mask is a characteristic of Mexican wrestling in that sets it apart from other wrestling in other counties. The Mask in itself is complied of a lot of layers of meaning from primal magicalism to the modern heroism. But one thing is certain, wearing the mask enables you to become big and strong, not only true for the performers but for all of us.

The social aspect relates to the multi-facet fan base, where the spectator is made up of the entire family, from children to elders, in comparison to its counterpart in the US. In the end, this activity becomes as a therapeutic mechanism to cope with the ills and stress of the modern world.

Que Viva la Lucha is really a celebration of a Mexican Wrestling legacy and prospering future spearheaded by young luchadores like Extreme Tiger, whose goal was to expose Japan to Mexican Wrestling. ♦

The documentary will be screened at the Latino Film Festival November 14 and 17 2007. For more information: www.latinofilmfestival.org.