LAS PIONERAS DE LA LUCHA LIBRE
LAS PIONERAS DE LA LUCHA LIBRE
Las Pioneras de la Lucha Libre / The Female Pioneers of Mexican Wrestling
Whilst developing my final major University project, I discovered a group of Mexican female wrestlers through researching atheletes who challenge gender norms. I immediately fell in love with their stories, their Lucha Libre personas, and the ways in which they confidently embraced a typically highly masculine profession.
Sadly, their stories and histories are not as easily found compared to the many male Mexican wrestlers, like the notorious El Santo. This is partly because, even whilst wrestling during the same era, being a female Mexican wrestler in the 1950’s resulted in much backlash from society, male sexualisation and even exclusion from Mexico City. I chose to share the history of Las Pioneras and their stories through a series of artwork, including a mass-produced risoprint zine, in the hopes of sharing these inspirational women with others and bringing them out of history’s shadows.
The majority of my research has been sourced from work by researcher Marjolein Van Bavel, whose interviews and research work has been fundamental in revealing these once hidden luchadoras.
La Dama Enmascarda and Irma Gonzalez in the mid-1950s. Photograph courtesy of Irma Morales Munoz’s private collection, sourced from research article Morbo, lucha libre, and Television: The Ban of Women Wrestlers from Mexico City in the 1950s, by Marjolein Van Bavel.
Tapestry
Illustrated digitally, printed onto fabric and constructed as a large-scale wall-hanging.
This tapestry is a celebration of Las Pioneras and aims to convey their strength, the drama of lucha libre and demonstrate the contradiction between the wrestlers’ femininity and masculinity.
This contradiction of gender stereotypes can also be seen represented through my choice of medium - the use of fabric and sewing to create my tapestry which displays illustrations depicting a highly masculine career.
Painted Cut-Out Figure of Irma Gonzalez.
6-Ft plywood figure of pioneering female Mexican wrestler Irma Gonzalez, cut out by hand and painted using acrylics.
4-Layer Risoprint Zine
Illustrated digitally then risoprinted, this zine provides background information to my project. It also shares the names of and information belonging to the hidden female wrestlers - something that was important for me to do.
Digital Illustration, ‘The Rage of a Luchadora’
Created digitally using scanned hand-painted textures.
Digital Illustration
Created digitally using scanned hand-painted textures.
Series of lasercut wooden medals
Symbolising medals that the female wrestlers deserved to win, e.g. celebrating them not conforming to gender stereotypes, their physical and mental strength, and their skills in Lucha Libre wrestling as both performers and atheletes.
Images from my Falmouth University Graduate show display, 2024.
Thank you for reading! For more information on Las Pioneras, CLICK HERE to read Morbo, lucha libre, and Television: The Ban of Women Wrestlers from Mexico City in the 1950s, written by Marjolein Van Bavel.
Illustrations and writing by Amy Anderson
amysillustration@gmail.com
@amysillustration