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By Lina Lecaro
The Mayan theatre saw an extra caliente pre-Cinco de Mayo celebration last night, as Lucha Va Voom—the wild meld of Mexican Wrestling and burlesque—brought its bodacious spectacle back to the famed theatre for the Mexican holiday. The show, created by former Velvet Hammer babe Rita D’Albert and Liz Fairbairn, has been showcasing high-energy stomping and stripping for 10 years now.
It’s a veritable L.A. institution, popular with wrestling fans and burlesque fans, male and female, thanks to a raucous, punky sensibility, elaborate glittering costumes and hilarious commentary during both the matches the sexy vignettes (last night’s show by Blaine Capatch and Selene Luna). A cool meld of rock n’ roll and Mexican folklorico sounds fuel the fun too, as does the margarita-heavy menu.
Lucha’s Valentines Day show last February featured a special performance by naughty electro-tart Peaches, and the Cinco show—happening again tonight—is equally outrageous. Aerial performances by Veronica Yune and the Wau Wau Sisters, a Quinceañera-themed hoop dance by the alluringly androgynous Karis, a sexy 70s strip by Lux LcCroix and mucho mas make for non-stop excitement, as the show itself touts non-stop “sexo y violencia!”
The wrestlers get-ups and antics nearly rival the dancers: in addition to the traditional Lucha masks, each wrestler has his own persona and pin-up-ish ring girl, with everything from gangsters to pretty boys, draggy dudes to chickens and little people represented. One little masked wrestler even came out as a human piñata… and yeah somehow candy came out of him too. Lucha’s eye candy is just as sweet! See for yourself in our accompanying gallery.
LUCHA VA VOOM, tonight, May 2, 8 p.m. 1038 S. Hill St., downtown, (213) 746-4674, luchavavoom.com
