September 23, 2024 • 29 mins
In the 1940s, American wrestler Gorgeous George revolutionized the spectacle of Pro-Wrestling. When his show was brought to Mexico, it inspired the creation of a third category of luchadores: the exóticos. In the 1970s, wrestlers like May Flowers transformed Lucha Libre, bringing makeup, feathers, and glitter to the ring.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's nineteen eighty six.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The whole world is watching Mexico because the country is
hosting the World Cup, but it's an exciting year in
the Lucha libre world as well. Nineteen eighty six was
the year women returned to the arenas in Mexico City.
Women were banned all the way back in nineteen fifty four,
(00:23):
all thanks to the density Major Ernesto Urucurtu and.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
His so called decency leave.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Overnight, women were forced out of the capitol, with wrestling
on the road as their only alternative. So after this
terrible thirty year drought, the women of Lucha libre were
overdue to return to this Street do Fra, as the
capital was known back then, and what better venue to
celebrate the return than the Arena Coliseo. On December twenty first,
(00:53):
nineteen eighty six, sixteen top tier female luca ordres stepped
into the ring. Of course, among them was the great
Irma Gonzalez, who by then already had a daughter with
the same name, Irma, the same Irma he heard in
earlier episodes. Irma Junior also was a wrestler, and in
nineteen eighty six she was at the very start of
(01:16):
her career. The irmas, as they were known, often wrestled together,
and they were wrestling together on that historic December night
in nineteen eighty six. Irma Gonzalez later said in an interview,
we were the highlight of the night. We started the
battle Royale, my daughter and I. Not only that they won,
(01:42):
the return of Las Luchadoras to the ring was not
the only lucha milestone of nineteen eighty six. Sangrechicana took
none other than Perro Awaya's Herd, another legendary luchadoro. And lastly,
Mayflowers debuted and I can of a brand new group
of lucca ordes that were emerging on the scene, the Exoticos.
(02:10):
This third group is the focus of today's episode. All
sorts of legends and champions populate their history and it's
one of the most rich chapters of Lucha Librea history.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Ready, let's get writer Roun Bawonos.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I am Santos Escobara, the Emperor of Lucha Libre and
a WW superstar. For over twenty years, I have been
a professional wrestler in Mexico, the United States and around
the world. I've been a champion, a hero, a villain,
(03:00):
one and lost. But I always represent Lucha Libre with pride.
Lucha Libre, it's tradition, its heritage, its.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Culture, Ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
The following podcast is scheduled for twelve episodes, and it's
all about Lucha Libri.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
This is Lucha Libre behind.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
The mass Episode seven Exoticos Diversity in Lucha Libre. To
get to My Flowers and his Coliseel debt in eighty six,
we have to go back in time a bit and
tell the full history of the Exoticos.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
All the way.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Back in nineteen thirties when Donchavo Lutrote first saw Luca
style resting in Texas, there was a memorable team of
wrestlers who not only had excellent technique, they put on
a special kind of show different from other rests. Remember
showmanship is always essential when it comes to Lucha Libree.
The restaurer's names were Gorgeous George.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And Dizzy Davis.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Donchaba recognized that Davis was the more talented of the
two and invited him to participate in the e M
l L He's newly founded Lucha Libre League in Mexico.
Once in Mexico, Davies took his natural skills as a
showman and developed a brand new character. This character was
something far different than the heroic look in Santo or
(04:32):
the devilish masked bat. Davis's character were a clean, white,
perfectly ironed robe. Just imagine the look of a tuxeder shirt.
That was his style. In his hand, he didn't have
some matchro prop like a sword. He held a bouquet
of Guardina's and as he walked down the ramp towards
(04:52):
the ring, he handed out the flowers one by one
to women in the audience. He eventually became known as
guard Dinia Davis. To make his entrance even more specific,
as Guardinia passed out flowers to the women, is pat
at the man besides them. This was a type of
character Luja fans had never seen. Once in the ring,
(05:17):
Guardinia Davis as system carefully removed his robe, folding it
just so before placing it on a bench. Next, in
another unheard of gesture, the assistant took out a comp
and began styling Gardinia's pompadoo. Finally, in another complete inversion
of traditional Mexican gender behavior, he produced a small bottle
(05:39):
of perfume and started spraying the restler. Guardinia Davis reveled
in the pampering, showing off for all to see. The
crowd had no clue how to respond. Remember, most of
the audience was men, and it's possible that many of
them were the kind of men who subscribed to the
most toxic forms of sexist After the perfume came disinfectant,
(06:05):
the assistants prayed everywhere, even on the rev and once
Gardinia's opponent was revealed, he sprayed him too. Meanwhile, Guardinia
was blowing kisses at his opponent, which only riled him
up even more. This mainstream mailed each other's simply were
not equipped to respond to this kind of behavior, and
despite what you might have expected, crowds loved it. Guardinia
(06:31):
Davis had everyone roaring with laughter. The more his opponent
got angry, the harder they laughed. This was something entirely
novel and fun. Naturally, there were some haters. Here's Lucheali
expert Ugo Monroy. He explains that Guardinia could not even
(06:55):
leave the arena for three or four hours after the
event in fear that he might get jumped. But despite
those who could not get behind this style of Lucca,
or or maybe partly because of them, Guardinia Davis was
wildly successful. For example, Davis fought several times against the
(07:17):
legendary Charo Awayo, who I mentioned in earlier episodes. During
their matches, the assistant would spray Chao's body with disinfectant,
which would throw Charo into a frenzy. Most of the time,
Guardinia proceeded to take a beating, but the intensity of
those fights earned him a lot of fans. He was
(07:39):
so successful that Guardinia Davis started inspiring all the luchallodes,
and they began to imitate his style. Before long, a
whole new group of wrestlers was born, he Los Exoticus.
What made Exoticus exoticus was their general esthetic. Had rejected
(08:00):
traditional masculinity in favor of a manner exaggeratedly a fit
and stereotypically feminine. They were elegant, They were refined everything
Lucillotters were known for being rough, brusque, or even crass.
The Exoticos presented themselves as the opposite. The ship was huge,
(08:27):
adding a whole new dimension to the usual technical versus
rhudodynamic onto the Exoticos. Luca had not only been a
representation of good versus evil. It had also been an
arena where men got to outman each other. It was
about strength, USA and power in the stereotypical alpha male
(08:48):
sense of the words. Whoever was more of a man
was the one who won. But this was being totally
disrupted and the sport would never be the same again.
The Exoticus did adopt most of the standard luchaar conventions.
They also were divided between technicos and rulos, and the
(09:09):
rulos did use of classic grudo tactics poking eyes and
pulling hair, But the most powerful weapon in their arsenal
was their kisses, blown from one side of the ring
to the other like poisoned darts that would send their
opponents into rage. It was an effect the crowd adored.
(09:33):
The Exotica's impact extended beyond the ring. Some of them
made it into the Luce movies, and one even acted
with Tintan, an actor as big in Mexico as carry
Ground was in Hollywood. Early Exoticas not only wrestled in
light colored robes, they decked themselves out with the kind
of accessories you might buy if you were dressing up
(09:55):
as a princess for Halloween, shiny hearts and starts. It
was body language too. Everything was exaggeratedly feminine. These Exoticos
weren't overtly identified as gay, they were just called feminine.
But as in all cultures during those decades, Mexico was
a repressed society, and queerness would find expression in sometimes
(10:19):
surprising places. There's no doubt that part of the exoticos
appeal was wrapped up in Mexico's then rigid attitude towards
both gender and sexuality. In fact, the popularity of the
Exoticos skyrocketed almost immediately after they came unseen. They took
the nation's arenas by storm, and the movement was even
(10:42):
given a name, Laoola Lila, the Lilac wave, Lilac referring
to the range of pastel colors the exodicos work, colors
traditionally not associated with masculinity. In the nineteen sixties and
nineteen seventies, more and more exc because started becoming lucha
libre the household names. None, however, would make the biggest
(11:05):
splash as May Flowers, whose debut in nineteen eighty six
a debut field with glitter and sequence, is a major
moment in Mexican Lucha librea history. Mayflower's real name was
(11:28):
Florenzio Diaz Bolanos. He was born on October twenty seventh,
nineteen sixty two, in Torreon, Kuahuila, and it was a
childhood friend who introduced him to Lucha libre. Let's imagine
how it happened. We have young Florenzio, a mere eleven
years old, when one day he and a friend are
(11:49):
wedding in line to watch a movie on a whim,
his friend says, want to go watch some wrestling instead, Sure,
Florentia says, so off they go to the bull Ring
in torrent where Florentzia witnessed his very first Lucca libre match. Ever,
they even absolutely captivated him, especially when he saw Lis Mark,
(12:14):
an incredibly tone masked Luceello who was resting at the
top level of the sport. In that moment, Florenzia decided
he wanted to become a luceellor. He was still too
young to start, of course, but as soon as he
turned seventeen he started training. Florenzia was a super skinny teenager,
but it didn't matter, or did it. Here's may talking
(12:38):
about his first try at las Lucez. He says that
the truth was he could not handle the training. It
was too intense. This isn't for me, he thought. He
barely lasted two weeks. Young Florentia woke up so sore
each day he could barely get out of bed, so
before he even got started, he quit. He still had
(13:02):
the bug, though, he wouldn't leave it. So at twenty
four he tried training camp again, and this time the
training was well, actually was still intense. May says that
the first phase was all about conditioning rather than technique.
They tried to break them physically. He says calis technics running.
(13:26):
Everything was incredibly grueling, but twenty four year old Florentio
was able to succeed where seventeen year old Florentia failed.
Even though after the first week the trainers thought he
could not hack it, Florentia came back more determined than
ever to become a professional.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Lucato, I've said it once and I'll say it again.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
If you have a dream, you will give everything four
Eventually you will achieve it. But Florencia had two things
working against him. One he was small for a restler.
The other was that he was openly gay. His coach
warned him that his journey in Luca would be harder
from him than others, but also promised to teach him
(14:10):
all the self defense skills he needed if Florenzia was
willing to put in the time. So Florencia stuck with it.
He gave it his own, and month by month he
started getting stronger. In fact, he worked so hard that
it was only seven months before his coach said he
(14:32):
was ready to take the test to get his resting license.
Whether on purpose or not, who knows, But the coach
didn't tell Florentia about the test until the day before.
There was no time to think about it. Florenzi was
not thinking, though. He was terrified. He had teammates who
had been training for more than two years who had
(14:54):
failed it multiple times. He showed up the next day
scared to death. But here he was at the precipice
of achieving his childhood dream.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
His coaching only got him to this point.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
He lent Florentzia the money for the test because he
could not pay for it himself. This test was not
easy for anyone, but Florentia had never even been in
a ring before He and his teammates trained in a
rundown room covered with sawdust. But look were interested in
legends on this show, and Florentio is no exception. He
(15:31):
not only passed the test, he passed with honors, and
his coach immediately signed him up for a match the
same week, But.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
May ran into a problem one bomb.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Even though he had passed the test with flying collars,
the commission wouldn't give him the license because he was gay.
But this, of course, was not the first time homophobia
had gotten in his way, and Florencia wasn't going to
let this deter him. So he crossed over to the
bordering state of Durango and he got the license there,
(16:08):
where nobody gave him a hard time. He came back
for his debut match and there was nothing the people
who denied him could do about it.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
There was just one more detail, pleasy, do you know, slight?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
He didn't have any clothes to wrestle there, no shorts,
no boots, no anything, nada. But fortunately some people lend
him some, he says, and so dressed in borrowed clothes
and weighed just one hundred and thirty two pounds. Florenzio
made his luche liver Debi. May says he was so
nervous he doesn't even remember what happened. He doesn't even
(16:47):
remember if he won or lost. What he does know, though,
is that within a few months, he and a promoter
decided his name was going to be Mayflowers.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
The promoter told.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Him that it was the name of the ship that
brought the first English colonizers to conquer America, and that he,
as a Luccello, was going to conquer the Exotics. In
nineteen eighty six, Mayflower's debut alongside another Exotico, pimpinellaes Carlata.
(17:22):
Another new wrestler was also openly gay. May says he
was invited to watch pimpinellaes Carlata wrestled, and he was
impressed with what he saw, so asked him to be
his tactam partner. Pimpinella accepted and turned out to be
a great tag team partner. The two of them started
(17:42):
winning like crazy. We started going around the whole country.
May says, everybody knew who they were before they got there.
Prior to May, exoticos were known for being put together
and acting refined, but May added his own twist, making
(18:02):
his character more over the top. He dyed his her blonde,
used dramatic makeup, and wore pantyhosets, garters, and leotards.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Be named plan.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
May says he brought the hoteia, the queerness to the ring.
It was a fusion of drag, queer culture, and lucca
all wrapped up in one. The result was visionary and
ahead of the time. He and Pimpinelles Carlata continued to
wrestle together and transformed exoticos from proxies for repressed homosexuality
(18:40):
into openly gay characters, which is to say heroes. Remember
this is the eighties, so that was a big deal.
The eighties were a transformative time for gay people globally,
an era when more and more people were open about
who they had sex with with the same era when
aids ran decayed community, leading to a new vicious strain
(19:03):
of systematic homophobia. What May and his contemporaries were doing
was dangerous. That didn't stop them, though, May, Flowers and
Pimpinelles Carlata kept their winning streak going for years. The
eighties saw some other important milestones in the world of
Lucha libre. Blue demon the other great star of Luca
(19:25):
Cinema beside Santo, announced his retirement in nineteen eighty eight.
His retirement was short lived, though, because a few months later,
two wrestlers challenged him and he returned to the ring
to defend his mask. Who do you think one? We're
talking about Blue Demon Rasa. He dusted up the boots
and unmasked them both, adding two more masks to his
(19:48):
trophy case before retiring for good. But as the nineties approached,
lucha was changing. The first wave was.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Coming to an end.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Remember that it was around this time that both Donchawa
Luto and the director of the Universal Wrestling Association died.
Here's Luca expert Uga Monroy Losa Ugo says the nineties
arrived like a sort of hate and the country was
enveloped in modernization. Mexican businesses hustled for a place in
(20:24):
the global economy, and of course Luca was not going
to be left behind. Eml L leadership started pushing for
growth in a coalition of promoters started forming, connecting Mexico
with the rest of the world. Says the goal was
for e MLL wrestlers and EMLLL events to be recognized worldwide.
(20:47):
The organization was restructured and named itself the Conseco Mundial
de Lucha Libre, better known as cm l L. Another
massive change was about to happen too. After a thirty
year ban, Lucca was once again allowed to be broadcast
on TV, and the exoticos were there to ride the way.
(21:20):
May Flowers and Pimpinella's Carlata weren't the only two famous exoticos,
though Rudy Reina was another. Rudy had been a big
player on the scene since the seventies, and, like May
and Pimpinella, was openly gay. In January nineteen ninety one,
all three Luca lotters performed together in the Capitol at
a UWA match at the Torrella Puatro Caminos.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Rudy Reina was a more old.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
School than May and Pimpinella, and he told them that
in Mexico City they would have to tone down their
flamboyant customs and style. Pimpy and May, as they called
each other, told Rudy not to worry, that they were
professionals and would wear simple.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Tits and lead hearts.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
But before the match, when the promoter came into the
locker room and saw them dressed like the other Lucelotis.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
He wasn't happy.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
I was told you were different, worse the makeup on
the garters and all that. He didn't have to tell
May and Pimpy twice. They unpacked their backs and quickly
changed into the usual customs, racing to slap on their
makeup and glue on their feathers before the opening bell.
Rudy Raina came out first, and the audience welcomed him
(22:33):
with warm applause. When May Flowers and Pimpinella Scarlata came out,
the crowd went silent.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
This is pre internet.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
No one had seen images of these guy's before, so
it was all unfolding in real time. It was so
quiet you could hear a pin drop. But I'm faced.
The Perry of Exoticus entered the ring with pride, and
once the match began, they quickly earned the crowd support
with their incredible.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Skill and technique. Well it was unforgettable, says May.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
The response was overwhelmed. The crowd even threw money at them,
something that happens only once in a blue moon and
only when the crowd is completely entertained. But Mayflowers and
Pimpinella had done it. From that point on, their already
(23:34):
successful careers climbed even higher. They fought alongside Rudy Reyna,
and the Toreo promoter scheduled them as often as possible, and.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
May says their ascent was incredible.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
They were asked to join all the matches and every
journalist in the city wanted to interview them, and in
all the interviews, the Tree of Exoticos proudly declared who
they were and what they represent.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Three grade Lucelotis who.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Were openly gay. What they did inside the ring and
what they said outside of it helped pave the way
for future generations of Exoticus. In compliment, May says that
they all brought different skills to the ring and that's
why they were so successful. After only seven months of
wrestling in Mexico City, the team fought in the Trios
(24:25):
Championship against Los Missioneiros de la Morete, three notorious rudos
feared in arenas all over Mexico. The Rudos won that night,
but it was still a massive success for the Exoticus.
The event propelled them to a new level of fame,
(24:47):
and within the year they had fully cemented their place
at the top of lucha. Libree May says that in
ninety one they whopped all the awards doled out by
the media. May, Flowers, Pimpinelles, Carlata, and Rudy Rena continued
(25:10):
to wrestle at the Treo and eventually were joined by Cassandro,
another Exotico. They just made a movie about him, starring
Guy el Garcia Vernad. The team of four performed all
over the country with the u w A, but the
u w A was struggling, so in nineteen ninety two
(25:30):
the guys started exploring other opportunities. At a new wrestling company,
they called the founder for a meeting and he said, absolutely,
come right on. The Exoticos were famous and any business
person worth their salts would have jumped at the chance
to sign them. But when they got to the office
(25:51):
it was chaos and the assistant managing everything said that
it would be impossible for them to have their meeting
then and they would need to reschedule. But since they
were already there, the exotico s thought they'd give it
a try. Just tell the director that the Exodicos are
here and see if he can give us a chance
to meet they asked. The assistant went and found the director,
(26:13):
and sure enough, the director stopped the meeting. He was
in just to meet May and his group, And would
you believe it, the wrestler he was meeting with right
then was none other than lis Mark, the luchallo. May
Flowers had seen wrestle as a child, the luchallo who
inspired him to become a wrestler. It was all coming
(26:34):
full circle. It didn't take long for the director to
cut a deal with the Exoticos. They officially became part
of the new company that day. But in the end, however,
not everyone followed May. His longtime partner Pimpinella as well
as Cassandro decided to stay in u WA, so May
started wrestling with Rudy Rainer. The guy behind this new
(26:58):
company was a promoter named Antonio Pena. In Luca Libre,
the promoter plays a huge role. He or she decides
who makes it onto the card, who wrestles who, and
what the order of the bouts are on any given knight.
Most importantly, the promoter decides which Luca does get the
(27:18):
prime TV segments.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
What was the name of this new company? You guessed it?
Triple A Latriplayer.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
That story coming up next in Lucha Libre Behind the Mask,
Stay tuned, Stay Luca.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Lucha Libre Behind the Mask.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Hosted by Santos Escobar, Produced by Fernande Strada, Argumelo and
Mariana Coronell. Written in Spanish by Tania Lopez and adapted
in English by Asa Merrit. Story editor Rodrigo Crespo. Fact
by Monserrad mal Donado. Research and interviews by Marianna Coronel
(28:05):
with help from Fernandez Strada, Daniel Padilla and Saul Cortes.
Mix and sound design Daniel Padilla and Fernando Galaviz. Studio
recordings in Orlando, Florida by High Hello Studios. Studio recordings
in Mexico City by Daniel Padilla, Fernando Glaviz and Andres
Baena in Sonoro Studios. Development by Rodrigo Crespo. Executive producers
(28:30):
Camilla Victoriano and Joshu Weinstein for Sonorro and Gisel Beancez
for Iheartsmichael Toura Podcast network. Marketing strategy and execution by
Claudia Fernandez, Mariana Heirera, Paula Perez, Marianna Baron, Wendy Barba
and Bernice Soto, Head of Marketing, Susanna Marina. Lucha Libre
(28:52):
Behind the Mask is a Sonoro original series for Iheartsmichael
Tura podcast Network. Listen to more podcasts in the I
Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows. Agradecimentos specialist mara Ugo MONROI covered art
Carlos Miranda. Thank you to the CMLL for the permissions
(29:15):
granted to record ambient audio in their facilities.
It's nineteen eighty six.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The whole world is watching Mexico because the country is
hosting the World Cup, but it's an exciting year in
the Lucha libre world as well. Nineteen eighty six was
the year women returned to the arenas in Mexico City.
Women were banned all the way back in nineteen fifty four,
(00:23):
all thanks to the density Major Ernesto Urucurtu and.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
His so called decency leave.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Overnight, women were forced out of the capitol, with wrestling
on the road as their only alternative. So after this
terrible thirty year drought, the women of Lucha libre were
overdue to return to this Street do Fra, as the
capital was known back then, and what better venue to
celebrate the return than the Arena Coliseo. On December twenty first,
(00:53):
nineteen eighty six, sixteen top tier female luca ordres stepped
into the ring. Of course, among them was the great
Irma Gonzalez, who by then already had a daughter with
the same name, Irma, the same Irma he heard in
earlier episodes. Irma Junior also was a wrestler, and in
nineteen eighty six she was at the very start of
(01:16):
her career. The irmas, as they were known, often wrestled together,
and they were wrestling together on that historic December night
in nineteen eighty six. Irma Gonzalez later said in an interview,
we were the highlight of the night. We started the
battle Royale, my daughter and I. Not only that they won,
(01:42):
the return of Las Luchadoras to the ring was not
the only lucha milestone of nineteen eighty six. Sangrechicana took
none other than Perro Awaya's Herd, another legendary luchadoro. And lastly,
Mayflowers debuted and I can of a brand new group
of lucca ordes that were emerging on the scene, the Exoticos.
(02:10):
This third group is the focus of today's episode. All
sorts of legends and champions populate their history and it's
one of the most rich chapters of Lucha Librea history.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Ready, let's get writer Roun Bawonos.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
I am Santos Escobara, the Emperor of Lucha Libre and
a WW superstar. For over twenty years, I have been
a professional wrestler in Mexico, the United States and around
the world. I've been a champion, a hero, a villain,
(03:00):
one and lost. But I always represent Lucha Libre with pride.
Lucha Libre, it's tradition, its heritage, its.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Culture, Ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
The following podcast is scheduled for twelve episodes, and it's
all about Lucha Libri.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
This is Lucha Libre behind.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
The mass Episode seven Exoticos Diversity in Lucha Libre. To
get to My Flowers and his Coliseel debt in eighty six,
we have to go back in time a bit and
tell the full history of the Exoticos.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
All the way.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Back in nineteen thirties when Donchavo Lutrote first saw Luca
style resting in Texas, there was a memorable team of
wrestlers who not only had excellent technique, they put on
a special kind of show different from other rests. Remember
showmanship is always essential when it comes to Lucha Libree.
The restaurer's names were Gorgeous George.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And Dizzy Davis.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Donchaba recognized that Davis was the more talented of the
two and invited him to participate in the e M
l L He's newly founded Lucha Libre League in Mexico.
Once in Mexico, Davies took his natural skills as a
showman and developed a brand new character. This character was
something far different than the heroic look in Santo or
(04:32):
the devilish masked bat. Davis's character were a clean, white,
perfectly ironed robe. Just imagine the look of a tuxeder shirt.
That was his style. In his hand, he didn't have
some matchro prop like a sword. He held a bouquet
of Guardina's and as he walked down the ramp towards
(04:52):
the ring, he handed out the flowers one by one
to women in the audience. He eventually became known as
guard Dinia Davis. To make his entrance even more specific,
as Guardinia passed out flowers to the women, is pat
at the man besides them. This was a type of
character Luja fans had never seen. Once in the ring,
(05:17):
Guardinia Davis as system carefully removed his robe, folding it
just so before placing it on a bench. Next, in
another unheard of gesture, the assistant took out a comp
and began styling Gardinia's pompadoo. Finally, in another complete inversion
of traditional Mexican gender behavior, he produced a small bottle
(05:39):
of perfume and started spraying the restler. Guardinia Davis reveled
in the pampering, showing off for all to see. The
crowd had no clue how to respond. Remember, most of
the audience was men, and it's possible that many of
them were the kind of men who subscribed to the
most toxic forms of sexist After the perfume came disinfectant,
(06:05):
the assistants prayed everywhere, even on the rev and once
Gardinia's opponent was revealed, he sprayed him too. Meanwhile, Guardinia
was blowing kisses at his opponent, which only riled him
up even more. This mainstream mailed each other's simply were
not equipped to respond to this kind of behavior, and
despite what you might have expected, crowds loved it. Guardinia
(06:31):
Davis had everyone roaring with laughter. The more his opponent
got angry, the harder they laughed. This was something entirely
novel and fun. Naturally, there were some haters. Here's Lucheali
expert Ugo Monroy. He explains that Guardinia could not even
(06:55):
leave the arena for three or four hours after the
event in fear that he might get jumped. But despite
those who could not get behind this style of Lucca,
or or maybe partly because of them, Guardinia Davis was
wildly successful. For example, Davis fought several times against the
(07:17):
legendary Charo Awayo, who I mentioned in earlier episodes. During
their matches, the assistant would spray Chao's body with disinfectant,
which would throw Charo into a frenzy. Most of the time,
Guardinia proceeded to take a beating, but the intensity of
those fights earned him a lot of fans. He was
(07:39):
so successful that Guardinia Davis started inspiring all the luchallodes,
and they began to imitate his style. Before long, a
whole new group of wrestlers was born, he Los Exoticus.
What made Exoticus exoticus was their general esthetic. Had rejected
(08:00):
traditional masculinity in favor of a manner exaggeratedly a fit
and stereotypically feminine. They were elegant, They were refined everything
Lucillotters were known for being rough, brusque, or even crass.
The Exoticos presented themselves as the opposite. The ship was huge,
(08:27):
adding a whole new dimension to the usual technical versus
rhudodynamic onto the Exoticos. Luca had not only been a
representation of good versus evil. It had also been an
arena where men got to outman each other. It was
about strength, USA and power in the stereotypical alpha male
(08:48):
sense of the words. Whoever was more of a man
was the one who won. But this was being totally
disrupted and the sport would never be the same again.
The Exoticus did adopt most of the standard luchaar conventions.
They also were divided between technicos and rulos, and the
(09:09):
rulos did use of classic grudo tactics poking eyes and
pulling hair, But the most powerful weapon in their arsenal
was their kisses, blown from one side of the ring
to the other like poisoned darts that would send their
opponents into rage. It was an effect the crowd adored.
(09:33):
The Exotica's impact extended beyond the ring. Some of them
made it into the Luce movies, and one even acted
with Tintan, an actor as big in Mexico as carry
Ground was in Hollywood. Early Exoticas not only wrestled in
light colored robes, they decked themselves out with the kind
of accessories you might buy if you were dressing up
(09:55):
as a princess for Halloween, shiny hearts and starts. It
was body language too. Everything was exaggeratedly feminine. These Exoticos
weren't overtly identified as gay, they were just called feminine.
But as in all cultures during those decades, Mexico was
a repressed society, and queerness would find expression in sometimes
(10:19):
surprising places. There's no doubt that part of the exoticos
appeal was wrapped up in Mexico's then rigid attitude towards
both gender and sexuality. In fact, the popularity of the
Exoticos skyrocketed almost immediately after they came unseen. They took
the nation's arenas by storm, and the movement was even
(10:42):
given a name, Laoola Lila, the Lilac wave, Lilac referring
to the range of pastel colors the exodicos work, colors
traditionally not associated with masculinity. In the nineteen sixties and
nineteen seventies, more and more exc because started becoming lucha
libre the household names. None, however, would make the biggest
(11:05):
splash as May Flowers, whose debut in nineteen eighty six
a debut field with glitter and sequence, is a major
moment in Mexican Lucha librea history. Mayflower's real name was
(11:28):
Florenzio Diaz Bolanos. He was born on October twenty seventh,
nineteen sixty two, in Torreon, Kuahuila, and it was a
childhood friend who introduced him to Lucha libre. Let's imagine
how it happened. We have young Florenzio, a mere eleven
years old, when one day he and a friend are
(11:49):
wedding in line to watch a movie on a whim,
his friend says, want to go watch some wrestling instead, Sure,
Florentia says, so off they go to the bull Ring
in torrent where Florentzia witnessed his very first Lucca libre match. Ever,
they even absolutely captivated him, especially when he saw Lis Mark,
(12:14):
an incredibly tone masked Luceello who was resting at the
top level of the sport. In that moment, Florenzia decided
he wanted to become a luceellor. He was still too
young to start, of course, but as soon as he
turned seventeen he started training. Florenzia was a super skinny teenager,
but it didn't matter, or did it. Here's may talking
(12:38):
about his first try at las Lucez. He says that
the truth was he could not handle the training. It
was too intense. This isn't for me, he thought. He
barely lasted two weeks. Young Florentia woke up so sore
each day he could barely get out of bed, so
before he even got started, he quit. He still had
(13:02):
the bug, though, he wouldn't leave it. So at twenty
four he tried training camp again, and this time the
training was well, actually was still intense. May says that
the first phase was all about conditioning rather than technique.
They tried to break them physically. He says calis technics running.
(13:26):
Everything was incredibly grueling, but twenty four year old Florentio
was able to succeed where seventeen year old Florentia failed.
Even though after the first week the trainers thought he
could not hack it, Florentia came back more determined than
ever to become a professional.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Lucato, I've said it once and I'll say it again.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
If you have a dream, you will give everything four
Eventually you will achieve it. But Florencia had two things
working against him. One he was small for a restler.
The other was that he was openly gay. His coach
warned him that his journey in Luca would be harder
from him than others, but also promised to teach him
(14:10):
all the self defense skills he needed if Florenzia was
willing to put in the time. So Florencia stuck with it.
He gave it his own, and month by month he
started getting stronger. In fact, he worked so hard that
it was only seven months before his coach said he
(14:32):
was ready to take the test to get his resting license.
Whether on purpose or not, who knows, But the coach
didn't tell Florentia about the test until the day before.
There was no time to think about it. Florenzi was
not thinking, though. He was terrified. He had teammates who
had been training for more than two years who had
(14:54):
failed it multiple times. He showed up the next day
scared to death. But here he was at the precipice
of achieving his childhood dream.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
His coaching only got him to this point.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
He lent Florentzia the money for the test because he
could not pay for it himself. This test was not
easy for anyone, but Florentia had never even been in
a ring before He and his teammates trained in a
rundown room covered with sawdust. But look were interested in
legends on this show, and Florentio is no exception. He
(15:31):
not only passed the test, he passed with honors, and
his coach immediately signed him up for a match the
same week, But.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
May ran into a problem one bomb.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Even though he had passed the test with flying collars,
the commission wouldn't give him the license because he was gay.
But this, of course, was not the first time homophobia
had gotten in his way, and Florencia wasn't going to
let this deter him. So he crossed over to the
bordering state of Durango and he got the license there,
(16:08):
where nobody gave him a hard time. He came back
for his debut match and there was nothing the people
who denied him could do about it.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
There was just one more detail, pleasy, do you know, slight?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
He didn't have any clothes to wrestle there, no shorts,
no boots, no anything, nada. But fortunately some people lend
him some, he says, and so dressed in borrowed clothes
and weighed just one hundred and thirty two pounds. Florenzio
made his luche liver Debi. May says he was so
nervous he doesn't even remember what happened. He doesn't even
(16:47):
remember if he won or lost. What he does know, though,
is that within a few months, he and a promoter
decided his name was going to be Mayflowers.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
The promoter told.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Him that it was the name of the ship that
brought the first English colonizers to conquer America, and that he,
as a Luccello, was going to conquer the Exotics. In
nineteen eighty six, Mayflower's debut alongside another Exotico, pimpinellaes Carlata.
(17:22):
Another new wrestler was also openly gay. May says he
was invited to watch pimpinellaes Carlata wrestled, and he was
impressed with what he saw, so asked him to be
his tactam partner. Pimpinella accepted and turned out to be
a great tag team partner. The two of them started
(17:42):
winning like crazy. We started going around the whole country.
May says, everybody knew who they were before they got there.
Prior to May, exoticos were known for being put together
and acting refined, but May added his own twist, making
(18:02):
his character more over the top. He dyed his her blonde,
used dramatic makeup, and wore pantyhosets, garters, and leotards.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Be named plan.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
May says he brought the hoteia, the queerness to the ring.
It was a fusion of drag, queer culture, and lucca
all wrapped up in one. The result was visionary and
ahead of the time. He and Pimpinelles Carlata continued to
wrestle together and transformed exoticos from proxies for repressed homosexuality
(18:40):
into openly gay characters, which is to say heroes. Remember
this is the eighties, so that was a big deal.
The eighties were a transformative time for gay people globally,
an era when more and more people were open about
who they had sex with with the same era when
aids ran decayed community, leading to a new vicious strain
(19:03):
of systematic homophobia. What May and his contemporaries were doing
was dangerous. That didn't stop them, though, May, Flowers and
Pimpinelles Carlata kept their winning streak going for years. The
eighties saw some other important milestones in the world of
Lucha libre. Blue demon the other great star of Luca
(19:25):
Cinema beside Santo, announced his retirement in nineteen eighty eight.
His retirement was short lived, though, because a few months later,
two wrestlers challenged him and he returned to the ring
to defend his mask. Who do you think one? We're
talking about Blue Demon Rasa. He dusted up the boots
and unmasked them both, adding two more masks to his
(19:48):
trophy case before retiring for good. But as the nineties approached,
lucha was changing. The first wave was.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Coming to an end.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Remember that it was around this time that both Donchawa
Luto and the director of the Universal Wrestling Association died.
Here's Luca expert Uga Monroy Losa Ugo says the nineties
arrived like a sort of hate and the country was
enveloped in modernization. Mexican businesses hustled for a place in
(20:24):
the global economy, and of course Luca was not going
to be left behind. Eml L leadership started pushing for
growth in a coalition of promoters started forming, connecting Mexico
with the rest of the world. Says the goal was
for e MLL wrestlers and EMLLL events to be recognized worldwide.
(20:47):
The organization was restructured and named itself the Conseco Mundial
de Lucha Libre, better known as cm l L. Another
massive change was about to happen too. After a thirty
year ban, Lucca was once again allowed to be broadcast
on TV, and the exoticos were there to ride the way.
(21:20):
May Flowers and Pimpinella's Carlata weren't the only two famous exoticos,
though Rudy Reina was another. Rudy had been a big
player on the scene since the seventies, and, like May
and Pimpinella, was openly gay. In January nineteen ninety one,
all three Luca lotters performed together in the Capitol at
a UWA match at the Torrella Puatro Caminos.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Rudy Reina was a more old.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
School than May and Pimpinella, and he told them that
in Mexico City they would have to tone down their
flamboyant customs and style. Pimpy and May, as they called
each other, told Rudy not to worry, that they were
professionals and would wear simple.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Tits and lead hearts.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
But before the match, when the promoter came into the
locker room and saw them dressed like the other Lucelotis.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
He wasn't happy.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
I was told you were different, worse the makeup on
the garters and all that. He didn't have to tell
May and Pimpy twice. They unpacked their backs and quickly
changed into the usual customs, racing to slap on their
makeup and glue on their feathers before the opening bell.
Rudy Raina came out first, and the audience welcomed him
(22:33):
with warm applause. When May Flowers and Pimpinella Scarlata came out,
the crowd went silent.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
This is pre internet.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
No one had seen images of these guy's before, so
it was all unfolding in real time. It was so
quiet you could hear a pin drop. But I'm faced.
The Perry of Exoticus entered the ring with pride, and
once the match began, they quickly earned the crowd support
with their incredible.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Skill and technique. Well it was unforgettable, says May.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
The response was overwhelmed. The crowd even threw money at them,
something that happens only once in a blue moon and
only when the crowd is completely entertained. But Mayflowers and
Pimpinella had done it. From that point on, their already
(23:34):
successful careers climbed even higher. They fought alongside Rudy Reyna,
and the Toreo promoter scheduled them as often as possible, and.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
May says their ascent was incredible.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
They were asked to join all the matches and every
journalist in the city wanted to interview them, and in
all the interviews, the Tree of Exoticos proudly declared who
they were and what they represent.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Three grade Lucelotis who.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Were openly gay. What they did inside the ring and
what they said outside of it helped pave the way
for future generations of Exoticus. In compliment, May says that
they all brought different skills to the ring and that's
why they were so successful. After only seven months of
wrestling in Mexico City, the team fought in the Trios
(24:25):
Championship against Los Missioneiros de la Morete, three notorious rudos
feared in arenas all over Mexico. The Rudos won that night,
but it was still a massive success for the Exoticus.
The event propelled them to a new level of fame,
(24:47):
and within the year they had fully cemented their place
at the top of lucha. Libree May says that in
ninety one they whopped all the awards doled out by
the media. May, Flowers, Pimpinelles, Carlata, and Rudy Rena continued
(25:10):
to wrestle at the Treo and eventually were joined by Cassandro,
another Exotico. They just made a movie about him, starring
Guy el Garcia Vernad. The team of four performed all
over the country with the u w A, but the
u w A was struggling, so in nineteen ninety two
(25:30):
the guys started exploring other opportunities. At a new wrestling company,
they called the founder for a meeting and he said, absolutely,
come right on. The Exoticos were famous and any business
person worth their salts would have jumped at the chance
to sign them. But when they got to the office
(25:51):
it was chaos and the assistant managing everything said that
it would be impossible for them to have their meeting
then and they would need to reschedule. But since they
were already there, the exotico s thought they'd give it
a try. Just tell the director that the Exodicos are
here and see if he can give us a chance
to meet they asked. The assistant went and found the director,
(26:13):
and sure enough, the director stopped the meeting. He was
in just to meet May and his group, And would
you believe it, the wrestler he was meeting with right
then was none other than lis Mark, the luchallo. May
Flowers had seen wrestle as a child, the luchallo who
inspired him to become a wrestler. It was all coming
(26:34):
full circle. It didn't take long for the director to
cut a deal with the Exoticos. They officially became part
of the new company that day. But in the end, however,
not everyone followed May. His longtime partner Pimpinella as well
as Cassandro decided to stay in u WA, so May
started wrestling with Rudy Rainer. The guy behind this new
(26:58):
company was a promoter named Antonio Pena. In Luca Libre,
the promoter plays a huge role. He or she decides
who makes it onto the card, who wrestles who, and
what the order of the bouts are on any given knight.
Most importantly, the promoter decides which Luca does get the
(27:18):
prime TV segments.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
What was the name of this new company? You guessed it?
Triple A Latriplayer.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
That story coming up next in Lucha Libre Behind the Mask,
Stay tuned, Stay Luca.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Lucha Libre Behind the Mask.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Hosted by Santos Escobar, Produced by Fernande Strada, Argumelo and
Mariana Coronell. Written in Spanish by Tania Lopez and adapted
in English by Asa Merrit. Story editor Rodrigo Crespo. Fact
by Monserrad mal Donado. Research and interviews by Marianna Coronel
(28:05):
with help from Fernandez Strada, Daniel Padilla and Saul Cortes.
Mix and sound design Daniel Padilla and Fernando Galaviz. Studio
recordings in Orlando, Florida by High Hello Studios. Studio recordings
in Mexico City by Daniel Padilla, Fernando Glaviz and Andres
Baena in Sonoro Studios. Development by Rodrigo Crespo. Executive producers
(28:30):
Camilla Victoriano and Joshu Weinstein for Sonorro and Gisel Beancez
for Iheartsmichael Toura Podcast network. Marketing strategy and execution by
Claudia Fernandez, Mariana Heirera, Paula Perez, Marianna Baron, Wendy Barba
and Bernice Soto, Head of Marketing, Susanna Marina. Lucha Libre
(28:52):
Behind the Mask is a Sonoro original series for Iheartsmichael
Tura podcast Network. Listen to more podcasts in the I
Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows. Agradecimentos specialist mara Ugo MONROI covered art
Carlos Miranda. Thank you to the CMLL for the permissions
(29:15):
granted to record ambient audio in their facilities.
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