|
| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Sympathy for El Luchador:
First, a luchador is a participant in "lucha libre," a form of free-style fighting that resembles North American professional wrestling, especially in that the fighters adopt grandiose personae. One thing that distinguishes the Mexican version is the use of the mask, a practice that goes back to the 1930s. Luchador images and masks are now rather trendy, which is why we were able to find one in a shop in the Kensington Market district of Toronto and stage this portrait. You can learn more about the luchadors here if you're interested.
Second, this particular mask appears to represent the Devil, hence the title, derived from the Rolling Stones song Sympathy for the Devil. The Devil that the Stones evoked was, in fact, something of a charismatic character (even if still nasty), and contained an element of sheer rebellion that suited the 1960s, but which also harked back to an earlier, 19th century conception of the devil, in which he was viewed as a symbol of opposition to aristocracy. (You can find this and other interesting historical notes in the last volume of Jeffrey Burton Russell's four-volume history of of human conceptions of the the Devil. I've read the final volume, Mephitopheles: The Devil in the Modern World, and I recommend it, but I haven't read the first three so, while I suspect they're good I can't guarantee it.)
There's an alternate view, with more visual context, in the Workshop.
Tech: cropping, multiply layer, curves. |
annagrace has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekLens members may rate photo notes. |
|
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 52 W: 1 N: 13]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-n-s.gif){kind=small}
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 527 W: 15 N: 532]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-s-g.gif){kind=small}