The 2006 film Nacho Libre has made Mexican wrestling familiar to teenage boys of all ages and, behind Jack Black’s anarchy, gave us a taste of the phenomenon of lucha libre, the luchadores (the wrestlers) and the masks they wear.

Each of Caoba’s reproduction masks has a professional wrestling personality behind it (pun intended).

The silver mask of El Santo

The masks are a key feature of the Wrestler’s personality and never removed during a bout. Some luchadores remain masked in public at all times; one of the greatest, El Santo was buried wearing his famous silver mask, having removed it only briefly during a TV appearance just before his death in 1984.

El Santo is a true legend of the Mexican wrestling world. A champion in the ring and a movie superhero appearing in over 50 films; he became a Mexican folk hero and icon, immortalised in film and song. His wrestling legacy continues in his son El Hijo del Santo, who became a professional wrestler in 1982.

Mascara de lucha libre
© Steven Collier