Crazy Americans, 2 of 3

The team of the “Gringos VIP” are a group of Rudos (or Heels) who dress in the Stars and Stripes and carry an American flag to rile up the Mexican fans as they brutalize their Mexican opponents without mercy.

While wearing red, white, and blue clothing is the mark of a hero in the USA, south of the border these are villain colors, symbolizing the exploitation, occupation, enslavement, and rape of the Mexican people by a dominant invasive nation.

The Gringos frequently cheat, teaming up to over-power their Mexican opponents.  This symbolizes the relative power of the USA over a smaller, poorer nation.  The illegal actions also send the Mexican audience, hopeful to see a fair fight and a Mexican victory, into fits of outrage and despair.

The illegal tactics, blatant cruelty, and merciless punishment by these Gringos strikes a chord in the Mexican audience, and reminds them of the oppression and humiliation that their people have suffered for several hundred years.A symbol of great pride for any Mexican wrestler is his mask, which conceals his identity and empowers him.  Mexicans understand that hiding your face offers freedom — an escape from the oppressive laws and restrictions enacted by the Powers That Be.  If they can’t see your face, they can’t identify you, so they can’t punish you for your rebellious actions.  The mask is therefore a symbol of the Freedom Fighter, of refusal to submit to abuse and domination.  This is why some Mexican folk heroes like El Zorro and Super-Barrio wear masks.

Traditionally, Latino peasants would wear masks that represented pre-historic gods and parade through their village on holy days.  They believed the alteration of their face transformed them and allowed them to access the power of the gods.  The mask therefore gave them supernatural strength.

Of course the Gringos reject this Mexican tradition and will try to rip apart the mask of any Mexican whom they have at their mercy. The hallmark of any great Heel is to find out what the audience loves, then hike down your wrestling tights and take a long, steaming piss on it.

The Gringos don’t wear masks themselves (since they reject and laugh at this tradition), so this seems to give them an advantage in a fight.  Their masked opponents need to constantly protect their mask and keep it intact, which distracts them from protecting themselves.

The Gringos will pull apart the seams of the mask so their opponent will need to use his hands to hold it together, which opens up his body to more torture and punishment.

Unmasking represents the mutilation and weakening of the masked wrestler.  His god-like power is derived from the mask, so to lose the mask is to fall from grace.

To have his face revealed is to have his weakness revealed.  We see that he is just a man after all, a vulnerable, helpless man who feels pain, and bleeds, and cries just like the rest of us.

Many times, one Luchador watches helplessly from outside the ring while his partner is triple-teamed and unmasked.  Why doesn’t he rush in and rescue his fellow Mexican from this outrageous abuse by the invading Americans??

The passivity of the heroic wrestler represents the submission of the Mexican people in general — the willingness to accept oppression and abuse from the more powerful nations that have dominated and exploited them for generations.  To fight back is seen as dishonorable for the stoic hero.  Long-suffering is a virtue.