‘Lowbrow’ Just Like Mom Used to Make

Tradition returns in grand style with Lucha VaVoom
Published in the Ventura County Reporter, 1/29/08

my photo coverage here

Ours is the age of spectacle, in many ways and to a degree that would likely induce thrombosis in our ancestors – from the rampant sex and violence of our cinema and television to the excesses of the web, where every proclivity under the sun finds not only expression but also a voracious audience. It’s a time when the notion of restraint has been rendered quaint at best, and when the most vocal condemnation of would-be turpitude often issues from sources that, under scrutiny, are found to be salaciously tottering on lusty feet of clay.

Thus it’s a delicious irony that this month’s debut of Lucha VaVoom at the Majestic Ventura Theater hearkens a return to the traditions of a vastly more innocent age. An eloquent, freewheeling synthesis of Mexican-style lucha libre wrestling, neo-burlesque pageantry and madcap comedy, the event -- which has drawn sellout crowds and rave reviews in Los Angeles since 2003-- is, despite appearances, less Grand Guignol than good clean fun. Don’t be fooled by the marquee promise of sexo y violencia; the event is an all-ages romp that pokes high-flying fun at an age where lowbrow entertainment has reached new heights.

Lucha VaVoom is the brainchild of Rita D’Albert and Liz Fairbaim, both film industry and promotions veterans; Fairbaim’s background includes the management of the highly theatrical horror-metal band Gwar, while D’Albert was behind the sensational Velvet Hammer, perhaps one of the most influential revues in the emergence of the neo-burlesque era.

Although lucha libre wrestling bears a resemblance to such American cousins as the WWF, in fact the sport – a major spectator pastime in Mexico, perhaps second only to fútbol – dates back to the 1930’s. The elaborately theatrical mask, the time-honored trademark of the luchador, hearkens back even father, attributed to the 15th century heyday of the Aztecs -- evoking character themes of heroes, villains, gods, animals and larger-than-life archetypes that share the common denominators of vibrant inventiveness and broad appeal. Among the characters one will find in Lucha VaVoom are the Crazy Chickens, Chupacabra, Toro Rojo, the diminutive Minis, and more. By the same token, while the matches of American-style wrestling are carefully scripted, the matches of Lucha VaVoom are freewheeling affairs where surprises are the order of the day. “We never know quite what’s going to happen,” laughs Fairbaim. “We’ve seen our luchadores climb into the balcony, pull commentators into the ring—from one match to the next, it’s always a surprise.”

Whether the athletes toil on the side of righteousness (the técnicos), or chaos (the rudos), the mask is traditionally presented as the luchador’s public face, preserving the sport’s kayfabe (or suspension of disbelief) to a degree that’s largely unheard-of in American-style wrestling. It’s not unusual for career luchadores to go to their graves enmasked, thus preserving their mystique for all time. “Earning the respect of the luchadores was very much a trial by fire,” notes Fairbaim. “We were determined to present lucha libre in the grandest tradition, and we’ve stuck by it, from employing professional, licensed referees to returning the sport to the grand theaters of its heyday.” “It’s unusual to find the sport in larger American venues,” agrees D’Albert. “Typical matches on this side of the border find cramped quarters in quinceñiera halls, rec centers, and the like. Blue Demon, Jr., whose father was a very well known luchador in his own right, has told us that our show gives him a sense of how it must have felt to perform in his father’s day.”

By the same token, Lucha Vavoom’s nod to burlesque very much conforms to the style, substance and yes, the mores of days gone by; from its elaborate costumery and set pieces to its old-fashioned emphasis on the ‘tease’ in striptease, the intention and emphasis of the show’s VaVoom element is not in what’s revealed, but rather in what’s suggested. Keeping in line with the ‘all ages’ watermark, the Lucha VaVoom ecdysiasts’ routines peel down no further than the bikini. “Honestly,” D’Albert notes, “the sensual content of our burlesque is tamer than the average music video.”

To quote the revue’s appropriately garish website (www.luchavavoom.com), “Lucha VaVOOM’s buxom beauties and masked Mexican marauders spread the love far and wide in a sexed-up, adrenaline-fueled carnival of kitsch” that descends on the Majestic Ventura Theater for one night only, Saturday, January 31. If history is any barometer, they’re preparing an evening of fun of which even your grandmother could approve.