Seattle’s Only Luchador Wrestling School Offers Hands-on Lessons in a Mexican Tradition
Netflix’s 'GLOW' may have put professional wrestling in the zeitgeist again, but it has nothing on Seattle-based Lucha Libre Volcánica.
By Danny Sullivan December 5, 2017
This article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
For more than 25 years, José Gómez was a professional luchador—a wrestler in the beloved Mexican art of lucha libre, in which masked, extravagantly costumed wrestlers perform high-flying stunts. Seeing a need for a training facility after moving to Seattle from Mexico City, Gómez opened his luchador training school, Lucha Libre Volcánica, in 2010. The school, the only one of its kind in the state, instructs about 30 aspiring wrestlers at any given time, including the Northwest’s only luchadora, or female wrestler, who goes by the name of La Avispa, or The Wasp. (Most students are men in their 20s, 30s and 40s.)
Once “El Profesor Gómez,” as their instructor is known in the ring, determines they’re ready, students join their more seasoned classmates in a monthly public match, complete with costumes, stunts and storylines.
“Lucha is my life,” Gómez says of the spectacle of swagger and spandex; for his students and assembled spectators, lucha is also a whole lot of fun. See for yourself at Lucha Libre Volcánica’s A Very Lucha Christmas exhibition Saturday at Evolv Fitness.
Lucha Libre Volcánica
December 9. 8:30 p.m. Free, $10 suggested donation.
Evolv Fitness, South Lake Union, 1317 Republican St.; 206.371.9568.
Follow Us
Ferry Tales: Eight Indie Bookstores Worth the Ride
Plan a summer day around these bookshops in Seattle, Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Kingston, and Poulsbo.
Independent bookstores tend to be cornerstones of the communities in which they reside, and Seattle is no exception. In addition to helping customers discover their next read, these neighborhood hubs host weekly gatherings and events, like publication release parties, author talks, and book clubs. Many of them have cafés and reading tables that encourage lingering…
Rearview Mirror: Seattle Art Fair is Back, Nordstrom Throws a Block Party, and a Must-Try Ice Cream Sundae
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
SEATTLE ART FAIR RETURNS The buzziest event of the summer (well, aside from the World Cup), is returning next week. Now in its 10th edition, the Seattle Art Fair will once again take over the Lumen Field Event Center, packing it to the gills with art from 101 local, national, and international galleries. This year,…
Studio Sessions: Jennifer Leigh Harrison
Seattle artist Jennifer Leigh Harrison uses layers of paint and abstraction to explore what we carry beneath the surface.
Jennifer Leigh Harrison’s paintings are dense with movement. Color and texture gather into mosaic-like fields, as if they have been fractured and reformed. There are places in the work where a frenetic buzz seems trapped between the canvas and the first layer of paint. That energy runs through Patterns of Belonging, her current exhibition at…
ENHYPEN’s Jay Has K-Pop Stardom and a Seattle Heart
The Federal Way-raised singer talks hometown memories, Ivar’s clam chowder, and how it feels to perform in the place he grew up.
Long before he was performing in sold-out arenas around the world and representing brands like Prada, ENHYPEN’s Jay called the Puget Sound region home. Born Jay Park (not to be confused with the other famous K-pop star of the same name, who is also from Seattle) in Seattle and raised in nearby Federal Way before…