In Mexico City, generations of masked wrestlers, known as luchadores, have been the champions of the people. From the noble tecnicos to the jeering rudos, these athletic whip-smart warriors set aside their rivalries of the ring to keep their city safe from the dangers of this world, and beyond. Of all the luchadores, of all the ages past, none were as brave or as strong as El Fuego Fuerte: The Might Champion of Mexico City. These are his battles. These are the 1000 Fights of El Fuego Fuerte, The Lachador.
I first became aware of The Luchador thanks to the weekly tread of new Audio-Drama.com show links on the r/audiodrama subreddit. The Luchador sounded promising, so I decided to give it a listen. It only had two episode when I first started listening, but I quickly fell in love with it. The first season is now out in its entirety. I had considered waiting until season two was out, but I then I decided that I absolutely had to review this show right now. So, here we are.
From a young age I had been fascinated by the world of lucha libre. Admittedly, most of that came via cartoons I enjoyed. ¡Mucha Lucha! was one of my absolute favorite cartoons. Yeah, it was all exaggerated, and include several fantastic and unrealistic elements, but it was still awesome. There was also Jackie Chan Adventures. One of Jackie’s allies was a luchador name El Toro Fuerte; not to be confused with El Fuego Fuerte from The Luchador. Even other shows, such as El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, included some elements of lucha. On the live action side, I saw a few episodes of Los Luchas. It was basically Power Rangers, but with luchadors rather than Power Rangers. I didn’t watch it as much as Power Rangers or Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, but what I did see was fun.
Of course, ever superhero needs villains For season one, El Fuego Fuerte faces off against undead Aztec vampire women known as cihuateteos. They are actual creatures from Aztec Mythology, and are said to be the spirits of women who died in childbirth. There’s a part where El Fuego pleads with the cihuateteos, and tells them that they are mighty warriors. Aztec women who died in childbirth received the same funeral rights as men who died in battle. The Aztecs viewed the act of giving birth as rescuing a hostage from enemy territory. So, El Fuego wasn’t wrong to call them warriors.
On the anti-hero side of things, we’ve got El Hijo de Lobo Sangre. He is the second luchador to hold that title, but he’s not the biological son of the previous Lobo Sangre. Rather, he was more his protege. Lobo is a rudo, but he’s willing to work with El Fuego if it means protecting Mexico City. He even develops a grudging respect for El Fuego Fuerte. So, Lobo is the noble demon character. Though, I should emphasize that he is not literally a demon.
Maria Amaya is an archeologist who works at the Museum of Anthropology. Naturally, El Fuego seeks out her help when researching the cihuateteos. She doesn’t really think too highly of lucha at first, but comes to appreciate it after spending time with El Fuego. We also a few sparks of romance between Maria and El Fuego. There’s a few other things I could mention, but that would be spoilers.
The narrator isn’t really a character, but he has an epic voice, and helps introduce new scenes. Daniel Valero Fletcher has said that he hopes that The Luchador might one day become a television series. If it does, the narrator absolutely needs to come along for the ride. The series just wouldn’t be the same without him.
Actually, while we’re on the subject, let’s talk about the voice acting. Almost all of the characters are voiced by actual professional wrestlers. Again, not my area of expertise, but I’m sure fans of professional wrestling might find this rather exciting. Overall all, everyone did a fairly decent job. El Fuego, Lobo, and Maria Amaya were the three strongest performances. There were a few characters who didn’t quite hit the mark, but I’m willing to cut the voice actors some slack. They’re professional wrestlers, not professional voice actors. The accents are all over the place. Some characters, such as El Fuego, sound believably Mexican. Others, such as the mayor of Mexico City, sound straight-up America. However, this is probably intentional. Like, presumably, the characters are actually speaking Spanish, but we hear it as English for our convenience. So, presumably the actors were all told to just use their natural speaking voices.
Each season also brings the opportunity to win tickets to real life wrestling matches. This is part of El Fuego Furte’s Luchador Crime Club. At the end of each episode, a secret word is revealed. You then email the word to The Luchador’s email address, which you can find on the website, and you are entered for a chance to win the tickets. The official Twitter account for The Luchador frequently live tweets various professional wrestling matches. In fact, you could be forgive for mistaking it for a wrestling fan account, rather than an audio drama podcast account.
There you have it. Season one of The Luchador: 1000 Fights of El Fuego Fuerte is absolutely fantastic. It combines lucha libre with urban fantasy adventures in Mexico City. I can’t wait to see what future seasons have in store for us. Do not wait to listen to this audio drama. Believe me, you will not regret it.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
I say all of this to emphasize that, while I do admire lucha libre, I’m far from an expert on the topic. As stated, most of what I know comes from cartoons. All that being said, I still greatly enjoyed The Luchador: 1000 Fights of El Fuego Fuerte. Honestly, it successfully replicated those feelings I felt when watching all of those cartoons I mentioned. Series creator Daniel Valero Fletcher says that The Luchador was largely inspired by lucha movies from the 1970s. Again, never seen any of them in full, but I have seen clips from various lucha movies. They always looked like good campy fun. Daniel also cites Lucha Underground from the El Rey Network as a major influence.
Now, lets discuss a bit of wrestling terminology. People often say that professional wresting is fake, but that’s a bit of misnomer. True, the outcomes, and much of the choreography, of the matches are predetermined. However, all the stunts are very real. The bodyslams, atomic drops, piledrivers, people getting hit by folding chairs; all of that is absolutely real. As such, professional wrestlers deserve major respect, because they take a series beating for your entertainment. There’s kind of a willing suspension of disbelief among wrestling fans known as kayfabe. Basically, you know that wrestling is scripted, but you act like it is real. Think of this like whenever The Muppets get interviewed. Yeah, we all know they’re really just puppets, but everyone acts like they’re real. The wrestlers playing heroes are known as faces, with tecnicos being their lucha equivalent. Wrestlers playing villains are known as heels, with rudos as their lucha equivalents.
Obviously, things are a bit different in the world of The Luchador. The matches are depicted as having some scripted elements, but they’re also sort of depicted as being unscripted and real, for want of a better word. Though, from what I understand, this way of doing things isn’t that uncommon in wrestling fiction.
El Fuego Fuerte is, for all intents and purposes, a superhero. As with any good superhero, he adheres to a strict moral code. In this case, the rule of lucha libre. For example, during a car chase, El Fuego Fuerte refuses to shoot at the pursuers, for a tecnico is never the first to introduce a foreign object to the match. He also never appears in public without his mask on, because that’s a big no-no in lucha. Though, that said, El Fuego Fuerte does have a large collection of masks, such as dining masks, which he keeps for special occasions and appearances. However, we also get hints that El Fuego spent some time in America, and did some things that he isn’t proud of. That’s definitely going to play a role in the coming seasons. My guess is that he used to work as a heel, and possibly performed as a very stereotypical Mexican persona. El Fuego does say he felt that he brought shame to Mexico.
Now, lets discuss a bit of wrestling terminology. People often say that professional wresting is fake, but that’s a bit of misnomer. True, the outcomes, and much of the choreography, of the matches are predetermined. However, all the stunts are very real. The bodyslams, atomic drops, piledrivers, people getting hit by folding chairs; all of that is absolutely real. As such, professional wrestlers deserve major respect, because they take a series beating for your entertainment. There’s kind of a willing suspension of disbelief among wrestling fans known as kayfabe. Basically, you know that wrestling is scripted, but you act like it is real. Think of this like whenever The Muppets get interviewed. Yeah, we all know they’re really just puppets, but everyone acts like they’re real. The wrestlers playing heroes are known as faces, with tecnicos being their lucha equivalent. Wrestlers playing villains are known as heels, with rudos as their lucha equivalents.
Obviously, things are a bit different in the world of The Luchador. The matches are depicted as having some scripted elements, but they’re also sort of depicted as being unscripted and real, for want of a better word. Though, from what I understand, this way of doing things isn’t that uncommon in wrestling fiction.
El Fuego Fuerte is, for all intents and purposes, a superhero. As with any good superhero, he adheres to a strict moral code. In this case, the rule of lucha libre. For example, during a car chase, El Fuego Fuerte refuses to shoot at the pursuers, for a tecnico is never the first to introduce a foreign object to the match. He also never appears in public without his mask on, because that’s a big no-no in lucha. Though, that said, El Fuego Fuerte does have a large collection of masks, such as dining masks, which he keeps for special occasions and appearances. However, we also get hints that El Fuego spent some time in America, and did some things that he isn’t proud of. That’s definitely going to play a role in the coming seasons. My guess is that he used to work as a heel, and possibly performed as a very stereotypical Mexican persona. El Fuego does say he felt that he brought shame to Mexico.
Of course, ever superhero needs villains For season one, El Fuego Fuerte faces off against undead Aztec vampire women known as cihuateteos. They are actual creatures from Aztec Mythology, and are said to be the spirits of women who died in childbirth. There’s a part where El Fuego pleads with the cihuateteos, and tells them that they are mighty warriors. Aztec women who died in childbirth received the same funeral rights as men who died in battle. The Aztecs viewed the act of giving birth as rescuing a hostage from enemy territory. So, El Fuego wasn’t wrong to call them warriors.
On the anti-hero side of things, we’ve got El Hijo de Lobo Sangre. He is the second luchador to hold that title, but he’s not the biological son of the previous Lobo Sangre. Rather, he was more his protege. Lobo is a rudo, but he’s willing to work with El Fuego if it means protecting Mexico City. He even develops a grudging respect for El Fuego Fuerte. So, Lobo is the noble demon character. Though, I should emphasize that he is not literally a demon.
Maria Amaya is an archeologist who works at the Museum of Anthropology. Naturally, El Fuego seeks out her help when researching the cihuateteos. She doesn’t really think too highly of lucha at first, but comes to appreciate it after spending time with El Fuego. We also a few sparks of romance between Maria and El Fuego. There’s a few other things I could mention, but that would be spoilers.
The narrator isn’t really a character, but he has an epic voice, and helps introduce new scenes. Daniel Valero Fletcher has said that he hopes that The Luchador might one day become a television series. If it does, the narrator absolutely needs to come along for the ride. The series just wouldn’t be the same without him.
Actually, while we’re on the subject, let’s talk about the voice acting. Almost all of the characters are voiced by actual professional wrestlers. Again, not my area of expertise, but I’m sure fans of professional wrestling might find this rather exciting. Overall all, everyone did a fairly decent job. El Fuego, Lobo, and Maria Amaya were the three strongest performances. There were a few characters who didn’t quite hit the mark, but I’m willing to cut the voice actors some slack. They’re professional wrestlers, not professional voice actors. The accents are all over the place. Some characters, such as El Fuego, sound believably Mexican. Others, such as the mayor of Mexico City, sound straight-up America. However, this is probably intentional. Like, presumably, the characters are actually speaking Spanish, but we hear it as English for our convenience. So, presumably the actors were all told to just use their natural speaking voices.
Each season also brings the opportunity to win tickets to real life wrestling matches. This is part of El Fuego Furte’s Luchador Crime Club. At the end of each episode, a secret word is revealed. You then email the word to The Luchador’s email address, which you can find on the website, and you are entered for a chance to win the tickets. The official Twitter account for The Luchador frequently live tweets various professional wrestling matches. In fact, you could be forgive for mistaking it for a wrestling fan account, rather than an audio drama podcast account.
There you have it. Season one of The Luchador: 1000 Fights of El Fuego Fuerte is absolutely fantastic. It combines lucha libre with urban fantasy adventures in Mexico City. I can’t wait to see what future seasons have in store for us. Do not wait to listen to this audio drama. Believe me, you will not regret it.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
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