NIÑO LIBRE

Last night I went to polish off the last of my Sports Factor story on Lucha Libre.

It's on the general ridiculousness, sorry, 'cultural machoism' of the Free Fight and last night's foray was great fun.

First I interviewed a lot of people between the age of 1 and 6 about what they like about Lucha Libre. While none of the one-year-olds actually said, "It's amazing because it instills aggression and machoism in us from a very young age", that's ok, because it's all in Spanish and I can just dub it in the voiceover.

(For any americans reading this, that was a joke)

I'd already contacted the media person, Sandra, who wrote me a one line response that all I needed was media ID and a zoom, neglecting to mention that I had to be registered beforehand and be on the door. A bespectacled man tells me I have to come back during the week and register at the office, before coming back AGAIN to do my work.

No thanks.

I'm going to employ a little Fernando-ism. I tell him I don't need to take my camera in (omitting a mention of my mini-disc recorder and mic) and somehow convince him to let me enter for 'a very short time'. I leave my $1500 camera with a lady in a raincoat called 'Tere', who smuggles it inside her jacket, tucking it under her armpit. I wonder if I'll see it again.

The spectacle, to be honest, is amazing. The sound of bicycle pumps powering car horns, heard from a distance without a hangover, is compelling. The ridiculous men in the ring are quite amazing, and I have a great time.

I emerge half an hour later with all the sound I need, and Tere dislodges my camera from her armpit. She is a lovely lady, Mexicans are very warm (not just their under-arms).

I'm going to try 'assertive' (pushy) more often.