{"id":164187,"date":"2025-08-21T16:17:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T16:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/164187\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T16:17:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T16:17:13","slug":"lucha-vavoom-de-la-liz-preps-for-final-show-at-the-mayan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/164187\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucha VaVoom de La Liz preps for final show at the Mayan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Absurdity. Extravagance. Fashion. Mystique. Physique. <\/p>\n

These are the shared ingredients that make up the seemingly incongruous pairing of lucha libre and burlesque that local company Lucha VaVoom de La Liz has offered the public for over two decades at Downtown L.A.\u2019s the Mayan theater.<\/p>\n

That run will come to an end at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 22, with VaVoom\u2019s \u201cThe Good, the Bad and the Fabulous\u201d showcase. While the cadre of talent at VaVoom is here to stay, the Mayan is permanently closing<\/a> its doors at the end of September after 35 years under its current management. <\/p>\n

The 98-year-old venue\u2019s shuttering was announced in a social media post<\/a> in July. Its president, Sammy Chao, shared a statement with The Times about its closing. <\/p>\n

\u201c[T]he past five years have delivered an unrelenting barrage of adversity,\u201d wrote Chao. \u201cWe\u2019ve done everything possible to stay afloat, adapt and serve, but the path forward has been eroded beyond recognition. We have given this business everything we have \u2014 and more \u2014 and come this far, so the decision to close is not so much one of defeat, but of necessity and truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

But worry not, lucha lovers: Lucha VaVoom is determined to send the DTLA staple out with a bang.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhysically, I\u2019m preparing more because I got pressure since I\u2019m the one on the poster. I gotta look like the [cartoonishly muscular] guy that\u2019s on there,\u201d said longtime VaVoom luchador Magno (real name Oscar Vasquez), who is one of the main performers at Friday\u2019s extravaganza.<\/p>\n

\u201cMentally, it\u2019s hard though, because I\u2019ve been [with VaVoom] for like 21 years now… I started with them when I was 19 and now I\u2019m 41,\u201d Magno said. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be a tough one, especially because all the feelings, all the times that I\u2019ve been there. To me it\u2019s very special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having initially worked with WWE, Magno left the televised spectacle and was immediately contacted by VaVoom owner Liz Fairbairn, who got him back in the ring as soon as she could. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bittersweet. We\u2019ve had such a close relationship with the Mayan and the owner Sammy and everybody has become family,\u201d Fairbairn said of her organization\u2019s partnership with the downtown theater. \u201cPeople change and come and go over 23 years, but Sammy has been a constant. I honestly couldn\u2019t see us still being here if it wasn\u2019t for Sammy. He\u2019s been very nurturing and supportive of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

(Image from Lucha VaVoom de La Liz)<\/p>\n

Fairbairn noted that there is a special video in the works for Friday\u2019s performance and that the roster of performers is larger than usual for this last go. She\u2019s also built in time for everyone to \u201cshed a tear and share a hug\u201d by keeping the event running until 1:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s \u201cThe Good, the Bad and the Fabulous\u201d theme was inspired by Beyonce\u2019s y\u2019all-ed up album, \u201cCowboy Carter<\/a>.\u201d It includes the western-themed tagline, \u201cSaddle up! Get your hat and boots ready to experience the best show ever.\u201d Serendipitously, the Friday event works as a fitting last rodeo for VaVoom at the Mayan. <\/p>\n

The performance\u2019s bonus burlesque component adds a unique touch to the average wrestling event and provides for a different crowd experience for all involved. (Attendees must be over the age of 21.)<\/p>\n

Ruby Champagne (real name Laura Avina) first caught wind of the Mayan in the late \u201890s and early 2000s, as she enjoyed salsa dancing at the venue almost every week. It wasn\u2019t until 2010 that she joined VaVoom as a ring girl before ultimately stepping into the role of burlesque dancer \u2014 an art form that she\u2019s studied for 19 years. <\/p>\n

\u201cI like to think that I\u2019m presenting not just classic burlesque, but also a little bit of a Latin flair,\u201d says Champagne. \u201cI usually tend to include [that] in most of my performances, but more so for Lucha VaVoom since it\u2019s with Mexican wrestling, and my tagline is \u2018Mexican spitfire of burlesque,\u2019 so I like to portray that every chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from her first burlesque performance with VaVoom, one of Champagne\u2019s most memorable moments at the Mayan came last year. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2024, I got to be a go-go dancer for DJ Irene\u2019s<\/a> birthday party at the Mayan,\u201d Champagne recalled. \u201cI felt like that was full circle for me because I had gone to the Mayan for house music as well. I had been a fan of DJ Irene since the \u201890s. [I] was like, \u2018Oh my gosh!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the gravity of one final sold-out show at the Mayan, Magno acknowledged there will be \u201chard feelings there in a good way,\u201d while Fairbairn said that VaVoom will never truly leave the Mayan. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe will always have a part of the Mayan in us,\u201d she said. \u201cHonestly, the Mayan is so integrated with Lucha VaVoom, there\u2019s no way we won\u2019t carry it around with us. So many memories. Twenty-three years of amazing memories.\u201d<\/p>\n