Lucha libre in the US: The wrestler who taunts Latino fans
One of the main characters in an American professional wrestling league is a conservative "patriot" who wants to rid the US of illegal immigrants. How far can RJ Brewer wind up the sport's mostly Hispanic fans before causing real offence?
The boos come when RJ Brewer does his job right. He is paid to be the bad guy, and fans let him have it, showering him with jeers every time he steps into the ring.
He is one of the main characters in the professional wrestling league Lucha Libre USA, which aims to spread into the American market one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Mexico - freestyle wrestling.
The four-year-old league needed "rudos", or bad guys, and organisers wanted American-born, English-speaking wrestlers who could appeal to the broader US audience.
The league cast John Stagikas, 32, to play RJ Brewer, an ultraconservative American patriot who, his online biography declares, "feels that good morals and strong family values are the key to a successful country".
Before the overwhelmingly Hispanic Lucha Libre USA audience, his right-wing take on illegal immigration provokes the most boos.
His rants are so off-the-wall there is little mistaking them for anything but a joke (he has vowed to rid American wrestling of the Mexican influence, even if that means deporting wrestlers from the locker room).
The character resonates deeply with Hispanics who have been deeply affected by the illegal immigration debate, raging for decades with no solution in sight.
In a form of make-believe known in professional wrestling as "kayfabe", RJ Brewer is said to be from Phoenix, Arizona, arguably the political centre of the US anti-illegal immigration movement.
Lucha libre in the US: The wrestler who taunts Latino fans
No comments:
Post a Comment