I just got back from a trip to Mexico and am completely obsessed with Lucha Libre art. The wall paintings are bold and graphic with bright colors and thick cartoon style lines. The posters and handbills advertising the fights are created using letterpress printing. This eliminates the digital process as well as the need for plates and pre-press, which makes the process efficient for handling the frequency of the fights. All the fonts, illustrations, and other design elements are ready to go at the printer’s shop, they only have to be compiled and arranged in the proper order. The printer does this himself on the press. The colors, usually bright and vivid and often including gradients between colors, are also mixed on the press. I also love the vintage Lucha Libre movie posters featuring Santo, Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras and other luchadores. Everything about Lucha Libre is very pulp, the movie promo posters are especially pulp in look and feel and are often printed on low quality paper just like the old 10 cent paperbacks. I’m currently shopping here for a poster for my condo, the only problem is deciding which one! I also got myself an official luchadora name here. Now all I need is a mask and I’ll be ready for the ring!

Enjoy a sampling of photos of Lucha art taken during my travels as well as some vintage poster images found online.

- El Gallo del Oro