Airbnb Experience Review: Design Your Mask, Luchas, Show & Beers

Good vs evil, mask vs mask, hair vs hair—the rivalries and over-the-top drama of lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) is an uproarious spectacle. When I saw Design Your Mask, Luchas, Show & Beers listed on the Airbnb Experiences for Mexico City, I had no knowledge of the sport; it just looked like a fun cultural activity. It turned out to be a highlight of our visit.

About Design Your Mask, Luchas, Show & Beers

Friends and lucha libre fanatics, Rick Pec and Gustavo, welcome Mexico City tourists into their apartment to share their love of the sport along with the history and backstory of its many colourful characters. After a fast-paced and entertaining slide presentation, the hosts guide participants through creating their very own lucha libre masks while sampling Mexican candies and beer. With homemade masks in hand, the party moves to Arena Mexico to watch that night’s matches. It’s a jam-packed evening and super fun!

The evening we attended, there were about ten other enthusiastic Mexico City visitors from around the world ready to embrace an evening of acrobatic antics steeped in backstories of vengeance and soap opera level drama. All this and mask-making too!

Lucha Libre History

It dates back to the 1860s and a fellow named Enrique Ugartechea who established the lucha libre style of wrestling based on the Greco-Roman form of the sport. It wasn’t until 1942, though, when wrestler El Santo came on the scene wearing a mask, that the secret identity aspect of the spectacle was born.

Masks started out very simple, but today they’ve become an art form. The worst humiliation that a luchador can suffer is the loss of his mask when he puts it on the line to settle heated feuds with opponents. Luchadores go to lengths to conceal their identities. If a wrestler loses his mask, he can never wear it in a match again. He has two options—start over with a different mask or become a “hair wrestler.” Hair wrestlers don’t wear masks but often have flowing locks. Their greatest humiliation? You guessed it; they have to shave their heads.

Making Masks

I am hopeless at crafts. I’m not sure why I lost sight of this fact when we signed up for this experience, but when faced with a pile of colourful felt and sequins I had a small panic attack. Why didn’t I prepare for this? I could have looked for a simple mask design online and come up with a plan of attack. Instead, I stared at the blank head stocking Rick provided for what seemed like a long time not knowing where to begin. I’ve never even held a glue gun before. Yikes!

I eventually got my act together and pieced together a barely acceptable mask. At one point I despaired because I cut the mouth part too far and had to glue a piece of it back on the mask! Ugh. Steve did much better fashioning his mask into one of his favourite comic book characters, The Flash.

I’m not sure of my design inspiration, but I included a big, sparkly zed on the forehead to represent my last name. Everyone thought it was a variation on Harry Potter’s scar. Oh well, at least I produced something.

The masks of the other participants in the group were far better than ours.

The Match at Arena Mexico

With glue-gun-burnt fingers and masks in hand, Steve and I along with the others piled into a couple of Ubers to go Arena Mexico to see lucha libre in action. There, our hosts presented our tickets to ushers who led us to our seats. The place was hopping with raucous fans, food vendors up and down the aisles selling tacos, popcorn, and pizza, and of course—the luchadores!

I’ve never even been to a North American wrestling match, so I’m not sure how this compared. Laser lights, booming music, bikini-clad women, “dwarf” wrestlers – there was a lot to take in. It was clear who the bad-guy wrestlers were from the bellowing boos of the spectators. Each wrestler had a distinct persona and style.

The acrobatics were impressive, especially when one or two would dive from the ropes off the side of the ring seemingly into the crowd. We were told one of the guys in the ring had just turned 60! I can’t imagine the aches and pains he feels when he puts his feet on the floor first thing in the morning.

Should you do this Airbnb Experience?

Hell yes! This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity that we would not have contemplated doing on our own. It was great to have the guidance of seasoned and enthusiastic fans as hosts for the evening. Not that I’ve got my pitiful mask on display, but it’s a fun and unique souvenir I will dig out now and again for a laugh and some fond memories.

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