Cassandro, the Exotico!

Shot in 16mm with raw, vibrant energy, Cassandro, The Exotico! follows the final years in the career of Saúl “Cassandro” Armendáriz, the star of a group of gender non-conforming Mexican luchadores (wrestlers) known as the Exóticos. After 26 years of thrills and spills in the ring, the fighter — openly gay and a central figure in the development of this wrestling persona, which challenges the macho culture of lucha libre — faces physical exhaustion and the need to reinvent himself. Between fights and private moments, the film paints a tender portrait of a body resisting and undergoing change.