grappling with social issues

A Very Pedestrian Superhero Grapples With Mexico City Traffic

Lucha Libre USA Mexican wrestling tour grapples with controversy

One of the cultural identifiers of Mexico seems to be its Lucha Libre masked wrestlers. It's actually not too different from the American WWF when you get down to it- heros and villians, backstories, staged bouts, the pageantry of it all.

However, unlike the US, luche libre characters sometimes are expressions of social needs or deeply rooted issues. For example, Nacho Libre was based on a true figure of a Catholic Priest who assumed the identity of Father Storm to raise attention and money for an orphanage.

When the AIDS crisis hit Mexico in the 80's, a villain emerged by the name of El Sida (SIDA is AIDS in Spanish), who won round after round, taking out heros until he was finally defeated at the last minute by Superbarrio.

Superbarrio emerged in the wake of the 1985 eathquake as a crusader and advocate for the victims of that disaster in particular and for the poor in general. In the aftermath of the quake, the government took a week to respond, and so instead of letting their neighbors perish in the rubble, the city organized itself into rescue teams and dug themselves out.

Why don a mask instead of writing their representative in congress, writing letters to the editor, or circulating petitions? Because these are actions that only work in well-functioning democracies. The Mexican government in general probably deserves only slightly more credit than the public gives them (none). These luchadors work by calling very public attention to issues to generally embarrassing the hell out of whatever government bureau is failing its constituents.

Which brings me to the above new examples. I became an instant fan of Peatonito (little pedestrian), the champion of the pedestrians and defender of crosswalks from overly zealous drivers, and advocate for better sidewalks. Frankly, I think its awesome. Mexico City needs you, Peatonito! Take back the streets for the pedestrians! Push back against the tyranny of the cars! Where can I get a tee shirt? Unsurprisingly, the alter-ego of Peatonito is a mild-mannered urban planner.

The other story is darker, on the north side of the border, the inevitable villian representing the anti-Mexican sentiments. The evil luchador has taken the name of Brewer, a blatant reference to Jan Brewer, head of the Department of Homeland Pageantry.

This kind of social activism gets me kind of fired up. Dare I wear the mask of El Aguador, crusader against urban hardscape and advocate for localized rainwater retention and use?

Or is it time for Espacio Publicito, (Don EP), who defends public space against the encroachments of government and private commercial interests?