If everything goes well for RJ Brewer on Friday night, an HP Pavilion crowd
will boo him senseless. His job is to antagonize the mostly Latino audience
during the pro wrestling tour known as Lucha Libre USA.
Among his hobbies, Brewer lists volunteering for the U.S. Border Patrol
with a pit bull named Visa. During a recent stop in San Jose, he vowed again
to unmask the tour's traditional Mexican heroes taking away American jobs.
"I've asked countless times for these guys to take their masks off, show
me their passports, show me their IDs, show me that they're legal to work here
in the United States," Brewer thundered during a promotional news conference.
Brewer's political rhetoric is good for business:
Promoters expect to sell out all 8,000 seats this week.
It also tests the bounds of satire. Lucha Libre USA organizers, as well
as the tour's fans, say that an over-the-top villain is as old as pro
wrestling itself. But immigration activists wonder if this particular punch
line goes too far.
"It is absolutely detestable that they would condone repeating such vile
hate just to improve ratings and 'get a reaction' from the audience," said
Laura Rivas, a spokeswoman for the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee
Rights based in Oakland.
By design, Lucha Libre USA is a culture clash, combining the colorful
acrobatics of lucha libre, Spanish for "freestyle wrestling," with the
English-speaking bravado of American pro wrestling.
Heather Levi, an assistant professor at Temple University in Philadelphia
who wrote a book on the sport, noted that matches are essentially a showdown
between good and evil -- the tecnicos vs. the rudos.
By that count, Brewer, 32, is a memorable rudo. His character is the
purported son of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed legislation requiring
immigrants to carry documentation or face arrest. RJ Brewer has been known to
wear a copy of that bill, SB 1070, attached to his costume.
Brewer is credited with luring another non-Latino to the tour, Petey
Williams, whose biography claims Brewer "convinced him that the Luchastars
were taking away American jobs."
While in San Jose last month, Brewer cut off an emcee talking in Spanish
to Latino media. "I have it in my contract that this has to start in English
or I don't participate," Brewer snapped.
He also looked across the dais at his foe, the Blue Demon Jr., and
wondered what would happen if the Mexican wrestlers dared to take off their
masks. "Maybe we'll notice them from a kidnapping or a murder," he said.
Gustavo Arellano, a native of Mexico who has written extensively about
lucha libre, laughed when told of Brewer's shtick, saying that the character
fits the tradition of "a grotesque carnival where stereotypes are played to
the hilt."
"Taking off the mask and deporting them? That's awesome. I think it's
great," said Arellano, the editor for Orange County Weekly and author of the
column "Ask a Mexican." "Yeah, it's offensive, but that's the whole point.
(Wrestling) is supposed to be a place where the fan can let go of their
inhibitions or let go of their nerves and just root for the good against the
bad."
Lucha Libre USA, now in its fourth year, is making its first visit to the
Bay Area. This Masked Warriors Live Tour is a 10-stop trek through Western
