LUCHA IS BACK! In honor of MOLAA’s 30th anniversary, you’re officially invited to celebrate the electrifying return of Lucha Libre to the Museum of Latin American Art! 

 Mark your calendars for an unforgettable month filled with high-flying action, colorful masks, and the vibrant spirit of one of Latin America’s most beloved cultural traditions. Watch legendary luchadores clash in the ring as the museum transforms into a lively arena of energy, music, and community. Coming September 2026! Stay tuned for match announcements, special guests, and more surprises. You won’t want to miss this spectacular series of events. ¡Nos vemos en el ring!  

Sponsored by: The Port of Long Beach and Department of Arts and Culture, LA County 

Program at a Glance

Friday September 25, 2026: Luchadores vs. Everything Book Launch and Reception (6pm - 10pm)

Saturday September 26, 2026: Music by La Nueva Ola de Cumbia, and live Lucha Libre matches (3:30pm - 9:30pm)

Sunday September 27, 2026: Lucha Libre Expo, Film Screenings, Marketplace and Special Meet & Greets (11am - 5pm)

Know Before You Go!

Badge Pickup: Arrive early to pick up your badge and avoid long registration queues. Badge pick up begins in the MOLAA Lobby on Wednesday September 23 and continues through September 27th between 11 am and 5 pm each day. Please bring a valid photo ID and your badge confirmation to pick up your badge. Complimentary items will be available to all VIP badge holders on-site! These will be distributed to you when you pick up your badge. Please keep your badge secure and safe at all times. Lost badges may not be replaced.

Parking: Badge holders get access to free parking. However, parking on the MOLAA campus will be very limited all weekend. Please plan accordingly. We strongly recommend ride share, bus transportation, or walking to avoid long lines.

Conduct: Guests of MOLAA must respect commonsense rules for public behavior, personal interaction, common courtesy, and respect for private property. Harassing or offensive behavior will not be tolerated. Outside alcohol or alcoholic beverages are not allowed inside the campus. Beverages and alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase inside the festival.

Program for All Access Badge Holders

Friday September 25, 2026 -  6pm to 10pm

6PM to 10PM Luchadores Versus Everything Book Launch and Reception!

Join us for a fabulous evening celebrating the launch of the internationally acclaimed book, Luchadores Versus Everything by Viviana Garcia Besne, Jeffrey Everett, and Kevin Kleinrock with special guest Dr. David Wilt. Light snacks provided and cocktails for purchase. Artist panel begins at 6:45PM moderated by Denise Salcedo! Live immersive installation of rare and historic “El Santo” film trailers on display throughout the evening in the Viva Event Center.

Immersive Installation: Enter the Ring - A Journey Through Lucha Libre Cinema

This immersive installation presents a continuous loop of original trailers drawn from the history of Mexican lucha libre cinema. Projected as a visual collage, the installation brings together masked heroes, monsters, mad scientists, vampires, mummies, wrestlers, heroines, robots, and extraordinary creatures that populated one of Mexico's most imaginative cinematic genres. The trailer loop offers visitors a fast-paced introduction to the aesthetics, themes, visual language, and cultural impact of lucha libre films while highlighting the graphic design, editing styles, promotional strategies, and audience appeal that helped define Mexican popular cinema for generations.

FEATURED GUEST Kevin Kleinrock has been producing television, pay-per-view and live events for three decades. Having ranked amongst Pro Wrestling’s Most Influential People, Kevin has co-created, written, and produced several pro wrestling television programs for cable TV (MTV), syndication, and international markets (Mexico, UK, Japan, Canada). He has produced over 100 major live pro wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts events, in the U.S. and Mexico, many of which were filmed for pay-per-view, television, or home entertainment. Additionally, Kevin has served as a producer Hulk Hogan’s Micro Championship Wrestling (TruTV), Ultimate Blackjack Tour (CBS) and the Aruba Poker Classic (GSN).  In 2007, Kevin teamed with Masked Republic founder Ruben Zamora to produce a pilot for a series called Viva La Lucha for the G4 Network. 

After teaming for the pilot, Kevin joined Ruben as a partner in Masked Republic and the team  has spent the past two decades building the first integrated live event, merchandising, and media organization in the United States specializing in the cultural phenomenon. The company consists of numerous divisions including talent representation, touring, merchandising, costume design and manufacturing, publishing, and content across all platforms including television, home entertainment, pay-per-view, and digital.

 Masked Republic’s publishing arm has released luchador history and cookbook Eat Like A Luchador with Running Press, comic book series The Luchaverse and Vampiro: Rockabilly Apocalypse through their own Masked Republic Comics, and together with Viviana García Besné and Jeffrey Everett, created and lead the successful Kickstarter campaign to bring Luchadores vs. Everything to life.

Beyond building their own company, Masked Republic have become the go-to consultants for U.S. work visas for luchadores (helping over 300 talents be able to perform legally in the United States) and for film and television consulting related to lucha libre.  From Ruben being an early consultant on Nacho Libre to their most recent work together for Dreamworks’ The Bad Guys 2, when studios want to maintain authenticity, they turn to Masked Republic. 

FEATURED GUEST Jeffrey Everett is a successful designer, illustrator, and author running his studio Rockets are Red outside of Washington, DC. He is also an Art Director at The National Institutes of Health. He has his MFA from The School of Visual Arts in New York City, NY.

Jeffrey has had the pleasure of creating for a wide variety of entertainment, corporate, and non-profit clients. Jeffrey has created designs for such bands as Joan Jett, Social Distortion, Foo Fighters, Lou Reed, The Decemberists, Gaslight Anthem, Flight of the Conchords, The Bouncing Souls, and A Day to Remember and for luchdores such as Rey Mysterio, Penta, Rey Fenix, and Tinieblas. He has created work for companies such as RedBull, Simon and Schuster, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Variety, The Washingtonian, Universal Records, LiveNation, Dreamworks, and more.  

His book, Let It Bleed - Twenty Years of Concert Poster Design, collects over twenty years of his award- winning music posters. Jeffrey’s work has been published in numerous books such as New Vintage Type and Design Entrepreneur, and seen in major magazines including Rolling Stone, Rock Sound, Print, Alternative Press, New Noise, and Kerrang!

 He is the recipient of gold and silver awards from The Art Directors Club and “best-in-categories” from the AdClub, and is included in multiple AIGA Fifty shows from 2006 to present. He has also lectured and taught at American University, University of Maryland, University of Baltimore, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), AIGA, Maryland State Arts Council and internationally.

  His work has been stapled on walls of acclaimed rock clubs, inked into brave people’s skin, and framed in high-end galleries around the world. His work has sold in galleries internationally and New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, DC. The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas hosted a record- breaking exhibit of his posters titled RefleXXXtions and his work is now part of the permanent collection.

FEATURED GUEST Viviana García Besné is a filmmaker, archivist, curator, writer, and founder of Permanencia Voluntaria, Mexico's first independent archive dedicated to popular cinema and audience studies. As the granddaughter of producer Jorge García Besné and a member of the Calderón García Besné film dynasty, she grew up surrounded by the stories, images, and artifacts of one of the most prolific families in Mexican cinema. What began as a personal effort to understand and preserve this legacy evolved into a decades-long commitment to rescuing, restoring, researching, and reinterpreting Mexican popular cinema. For more than twenty years, García Besné has challenged traditional hierarchies of film history by advocating for genres often dismissed as lowbrow or commercial, including lucha libre films, horror cinema, melodramas, fantasy films, and other forms of popular entertainment. Through her work, these productions have increasingly been recognized as essential expressions of cultural memory, collective imagination, and social history. Under her direction, Permanencia Voluntaria has restored fifteen feature films in collaboration with institutions including UCLA Film & Television Archive, The Film Foundation, Academy Film Archive, Criterion/Janus Films, Filmoteca UNAM, and other international preservation partners. Her curatorial projects and restored films have been presented at Telluride, Berlinale, Locarno, Rotterdam, Morelia, Filmoteca Española, and Lincoln Center. As a filmmaker, curator, and cultural activist, García Besné works at the intersection of archives, storytelling, public history, and community engagement. She has written for Rutgers University Press and Filmoteca Española and has lectured at institutions including AMIA, the Orphan Film Symposium, Berlinale Forum, Turner Classic Movies Festival, and New York University. She views preservation not as an act of safekeeping, but as an act of transformation.

FEATURED GUEST Dr. David Wilt is a Professorial Lecturer in Film Studies at GWU and a retired University of Maryland systems librarian. In more than 40 years as a film scholar, he has authored, co-authored, or contributed to more than a dozen books on film and popular culture, including “Hardboiled in Hollywood,” “The Mexican Filmography,” “Companion to Film Noir,” “The Ten Cent War,” and “Global James Bond.”   He has made presentations in the USA, Mexico, Spain, England, the Netherlands, and Canada, appeared in several documentaries, contributed to numerous film journals and magazines, and  worked on multiple VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray projects.  He created his first website (The Films of El Santo) in 1994, and continues to be an active creator of pop culture-related online content.

FEATURED GUEST AND MODERATOR Denise Salcedo is a dynamic host and producer dedicated to the world of professional wrestling. With a passion for WWE and AEW, Denise delivers daily content that includes news, interviews, and engaging podcast reviews, ensuring fans stay informed and entertained. Known for her vibrant personality, Denise covers major events like Wrestlemania and the Royal Rumble, making her channel a go-to source for wrestling enthusiasts. Through her work, Denise aims to create a colorful and informative experience for all wrestling fans.

Saturday September 26, 2026 - 3:30PM to 9:30PM

Lucha Libre Live at MOLAA! In honor of MOLAA’s 30th anniversary, you’re officially invited to celebrate the electrifying return of Lucha Libre to the Museum of Latin American Art! Beginning at 3:30 PM, dance to an explosion of humor, rhythm, and energy with the band, La Nueva Ola De Cumbia, “cumbializing” the greatest hits of the 80’s, 90’s, and beyond!

Then at 5:30PM, catch an unforgettable evening filled with high-flying action, colorful masks, and the vibrant spirit of one of Latin America’s most beloved cultural traditions – Lucha Libre Wrestling! Watch legendary luchadores such as El Cumbias, Kensei, Destiny, Rayo Star, El Muerto, Ultimo Principe, Red Spider Rudo, Double Cara, Mercurio Jr., Brillante, Romeo, Pentagoncito, and Mariachi Loco clash in the ring as the museum transforms into a lively arena of energy, music by DJ Claudia, and community in the Robert Gumbiner Sculpture Garden! Food and beverages for purchase at the MOLAA Bar!

Sunday September 27, 2026 - 11am to 5pm

Lucha Libre Expo and Film Screenings!

Join us for an afternoon of food trucks, art workshops, panels, meet & greets with special Lucha Libre wrestlers, and a rare film screening of La Mujer Murciélago (The Batwoman) hosted by art historian and film preservationist Viviana Garcia Besne, and more! More special guests TBA!

11AM Vendor Hall Opens

TBA Director Chat and Short Film Screening

EL LUCHADOR, Directed by Polaris Castillo. Official Selection — Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival; Official Selection — Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival and more.

12PM Workshop Monsters We Carry, Heroes We Invent: A Workshop on Fear, Identity, and Transformation Through Mexican Popular Cinema with Viviana García Besné, Founder of Permanencia Voluntaria Archives (Special Ticketing Required)

2PM Lecture and Screening (Access with Badge)

WHO WAS AFRAID OF THE BATWOMAN? Gender, Censorship, and Female Power in Mexican Popular Cinema with Viviana García Besné, Founder of Permanencia Voluntaria Archives

Expo Special Appearances!

Shelly Martinez, the first Latina signed to a WWE/ECW contract. Shelly competed during a pivotal era when women’s wrestling was transforming, actively challenging the status quo for prime spotlight time and delivering incredible matches. Her groundbreaking work truly helped open doors for future generations of female and Latina wrestlers!

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