Mexican wrestlers tackle the coronavirus with ‘Lucha Libre’ face masks

Mexican Lucha Libre wrestler, El Hijo del Soberano makes face masks yesterday in Torreon, MexicoArmando Marin/Jam Media/Getty Images

They’re taking down the coronavirus one mask at a time.
With fight organizations cancelling events left and right, coronavirus lockdown has dealt a veritable knockout blow to the combat sport industry.
Fortunately, enterprising Mexican wresters have devised a unique way to both stay busy and tackle the coronavirus during this downtime: sewing face masks inspired by Lucha Libre, the local pastime where competitors don colorful getups and engage in fake tussles in a ring.
El Hijo del Soberano, who lost his wrestling gig due to lockdown, tells ESPN he was inspired to act after his wife asked him: “Why don’t we make face masks?”
So like a defunct kitchenware factory making munitions during World War II, the inventive luchador MacGyvered some anti-COVID couture from the excess “fabrics that are used in the wrestling suit makings.”
Now, the colorful pieces, which are inspired by legendary local luchadors, are being bought up by COVID-conscious wrestling fanatics across the country.

A buyer tries on a Lucha Libre face mask on April 20, 2020 in Puebla, Mexico.

Hector Vivas/Getty Images

Wrestling-themed masks might sound like a gimmick. However, the Bane-like accessories are purportedly extra-strength due to their “double stitching” and “fabric reinforcement,” the furloughed fighter tells ESPN.
Retired wrestler IsaÍas Huerta similarly turned his attentions to face mask-making after shuttering his wrestler costume shop last month in line with state-mandated non-essential business closures.
“I started sewing costumes for my teammates, and now it led me to come up with the idea of ​​wrestler masks,” Huerta tells news agency EFE. The “cover artist’s” flamboyant face-coverings cost around 50 pesos (about $2) each, and he also takes special commissions from Mexican wrestling superfans.
The disease-deflecting devices couldn’t have come at a better time. Currently, almost 10,000 people across Mexico have tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting certain parts of the country to mandate that citizens wear masks in public, reports the BBC.
Laid-off luchadors aren’t the only ones churning out fabulous face masks during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, one Utah mom went viral for selling penis-themed protective covers, whose sales raised a whopping $56,000 for charity.
https://nypost.com/2020/04/22/mexican-wrestlers-make-coronavirus-lucha-libre-face-masks/