C H A P T E R 1:
C O NS TRU CTIN G C ASSANDRO
Fig. 2: Roger Ross Williams, Cassandro, 2016. The New Yorker.
With hair and makeup finished, after applying spray-on oil and ointments to his knees, Cassandro pulls on a gown, the final piece of his costume, flaring the train behind him. The announcer calls his name, and Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 disco classic, ‘I Will Survive’ blares over the venue’s sound system, his cue to enter the ring. He takes a light jog, ducking under the ropes and ensuring the train of his gown billows behind every few steps. He then poses a few times before removing the gown to reveal a bright spandex leotard, dropping it outside the ring for safekeeping until after the show. The gown and leotard evoke majesty, ceremony, and acrobatics, prefacing later parts of the match where he will climb to the top of the post to perform his signature back-flip onto his opponent, the Cassandro Bomb. By the time Cassandro enters the performance space (Fig. 2), he has completed the ritual process that helps him transition from the private Saúl Armendáriz into the public Cassandro El Exótico, also known as the Liberace of Lucha Libre. Saúl Armendáriz, known better by his wrestling name of Cassandro El Exótico,
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