Heather Levi, The World of Lucha Libre: Secrets, Revelations, and Mexican National Identity (Durham NC and London: Duke University Press)

摘要

This book truly answers to its title. On the one hand it draws the reader into the vivid world of lucha libre, the Mexican version of professional wrestling - its history, its rules, its performances and its performers. The reader is not only placed ringside but also taken into the arduous training processes and learns what it takes to become and remain a luchador or luchadora. On the other hand, lucha libre is analysed as a signifying practice and a social phenomenon, a 'master symbol of urban Mexican cultural authenticity' containing 'elements that could be read as a parody of the postrevolutionary political system' (p. 220).