Lucha libre, a Spanish phrase loosely translated into English as "free-style fighting," is a genre of professional wrestling developed in Mexico. Traditionally, Lucha Libre traces back to the early 1930s when Salvador Lutterroth brought American wrestlers he had seen during his time in Texas to Mexico, although there had been previous attempts to bring it to Mexico. A male Lucha Libre perfomer is known as a luchador, the plural of which is luchadores; a female is a luchadora. Because most wrestlers in Mexico are smaller than their counterparts elsewhere in North America, there is less emphasis on power moves than in the United States or Canada. Mexican wrestling is marked by rapid sequences of holds and moves, as well as spectacular high-flying moves, many of which have been adopted north of the border. In Mexico and other Spanish-speaking areas such as Puerto Rico, lucha libre is used to refer to all forms of professional wrestling, not just the Mexican style. However, since Mexico is the largest and most influential Spanish-speaking market for wrestling, the term is more synonymous with Mexican professional wrestling. -- Wikipedia
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