This story and all of L.A. TACO's Arts coverage is sponsored by Nikos Constant.
There’s a never-ending, generational rant / diatribe / soliloquy among certain “Hispanics” about the trials and travails of being bicultural. It is not so for Lucha Flan, the lucha libre-masked artist and curator of 200% Mexa.
200% Mexa is an art exhibit that highlights Mexican lucha libre through the art and photography of Chicano artists from California and the United States, with their lucha-loving peers from Mexico City, Oaxaca, Nuevo Leon, Queretaro, and other parts of Mexico and the world.
“That's really what we're trying to do with this project, is have this cross-border dialogue: having some of the Mexicanos understand more of what's going on on this side, and maybe some of the Chicanos understanding, like, what's going on on that side, even if it’s just imagery, because that’s also a manifestation of culture,” says Flan when I met him during the exhibit’s short stay in Pacoima.
Flan is no stranger to the 200% experience, a phrase used by some to signify their comfort as bicultural Mexican-Americans. He was born in Mexico City, and later raised in Granada Hills and Mission Hills. He still lives in L.A., but visits his hometown every year.
It was during one of his annual visits last year that he met graphic artist Portaveritas at an art show featuring lucha libre-inspired works.
“I started mentioning to him this idea of 200%-ers, which is not an idea I've come up with. It's something that I know Becky G has used in a lot of her interviews,” says Flan when he spoke about his lived experience with Portaveritas.
It didn’t take long for the two to see eye to eye on a potential collaboration, which became 200% Mexa: a cross-border, cross-cultural art exchange that highlights lucha libre cultura by artists of all ages from around the world.
“I personally know a good handful of these folks, but Portaveritas really helped out with recruiting, I'll say, a lot of more recognizable names, and then a lot of the folks in Mexico, of course. That's why we're able to count on folks such as Gabriel Meza, Black Terry Jr., Shuri who's from Japan...we have Bruce Arthurs who's from Canada, [and] we have a friend from Australia,” says Flan.
200% Mexa enjoyed a two-week run in Pacoima, where it took over a room at City Hall. Its location prevented Flan from hosting the larger, celebratory event that he had envisioned. He hopes to make up for that with a one-day send-off of 200% Mexa at the Eastside Café in El Sereno this weekend.
The exhibit includes various works of art, such as handmade masks designed by schoolchildren, photos of backyard wrestling shows, sketches of famous wrestlers, and original art that reflects the current political moment: luchadores fighting one-on-one against ICE agents.
“We've seen a lot of examples of art, I say more now than ever, of the luchador being a symbol of resistance, also a cultural signifier. I can personally say that about people here in the states, how a lot of, if not us, our family members or loved ones are victims of, you know, whether it be ICE raids or police brutality or racism,” says Flan.
“We have our LGBTQ community members too, and those are all overlapping with other communities. For as hypernationalistic as it may look, we're really trying to break borders. That's the idea,” he adds.
200% Mexa will have a one-day-only exhibition at The Eastside Café this Saturday, June 20, from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. at 5469 Huntington Dr. North, Los Angeles, CA 90032.
