Lucha: VAVOOM!Celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, Lucha:Vavoom! is a celebration of Sexo y Violencia, in the grand tradition of both traditional
Lucha Libre wrestling and
burlesque striptease.
The group tours semi-regularly, with shows in L.A., New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and elsewhere. Although the touring company remains relatively intact for shows, performers generally rely on booking shows with independent promoters during downtime. The show is the brainchild of producers
Liz Fairbairn and
Rita D'Albert, both burlesque artists in their own right.
Amongst the luchadores, both "technicos" (good guys) and "rudos" (bad guys) are equally represented, with colorful costumes and personnas to match.
The current lineup includes such characters as:
"Dirty Sanchez", possibly the world's most disgusting tecnico
Joey Ryan, a throwback '70s porn star rudo
Cassandro, the "Queen of the Ring" (despite a decidedly masculine physique)
Sicodelico, a ladies' man whose current gimmick involves giving roses to women in a "Bachelor-esque" elimination contest, which ultimately results in him wrestling 2 or more women.
And, of course, there are the perrenial crowd favorites,
The Crazy Chickens, whose entrance and theme song alone are already the stuff of legends.
The show is "hosted" by comedians such as
Blaine Capatch (you might remember him from starring in those Comedy Central bumper segments in the early 90's alongside Patton Oswalt. Nope?
Here's one.) along with
Dana Gould (as 'Charles Saint Charles') and
Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, amongst others. The comedy hosts riff freely (and obscurely) on the wrestlers during their matches: "He looks like the love child of Ace Frehley and Rondo Hatton!" and the show's D.J. liberally spins the theme song of whichever wrestler currently has the upper hand, giving the whole show a surreal vibe that is somewhere between audience participation and "audience as equal partner."
The L.A. Times on Lucha Vavoom (2009)
There are, of course, lots more links out there to peruse. Here's hoping this gives you a head start on finding out more about a most amusing hybrid of entertainment.
posted by kcds at 4:01 AM on February 22 [1 favorite]