Freestyle wrestling in Mexico is going through a difficult period, as the Covid-19 pandemic "overcame" this striking sport, rooted in popular culture, and forbidden by its fans, prompting the transfer of "Lucha Liberi" matches from the halls to the open air.
Uncommonly, one of the boats carries about a dozen "Luchadors", whose fame made them colorful and hostile masks as well as their twisted muscles. They shake hands with each other as the boat travels between the small islands of Suchemilco in southern Mexico, in a network of canals built by the Aztecs.
Here, among the dense plants, wrestlers discover the new wrestling circuit that they will compete with instead of competing in one of the halls that had to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This open-air circuit will see video-wrestling matches between wrestlers, recorded and later displayed online to raise funds to ensure the continuity of the practitioners' love of Mexican. And since there are no runways crowded with a crowd that encourages or cheers for that, the square in this nature reserve is left to the audience of birds. There is no doubt that there is a stark contrast in the scene between its soft cheeks and the brutality of the gladiators and their huge physical structure.
One of these wrestlers, called Cyclonico, told Agence France Presse, putting a mask on his face representing an "Axolute" lizard, which is found among the plants of Sochimilco, "It is impossible to establish matches on a closed circuit in the shadow of the pandemic." Ciclionico (24 years old) added, "For this reason, we decided to move to this magical place."