*The following posting comes from our FH Hispania colleague Patricia Alvarado who today is joining our blog as a regular contributor. Patricia is based in Miami.*
What does lucha libre have to do with Quinceañeras? The question came to my mind after reading an article on Produ.com about a new initiative by mun2 together with WWE –one of the stations in mun2’s signal- called ’Ultimate Quinceañera.’ To celebrate the 15th anniversary of WWE, the station will select one quinceañera from its audience and will award her with a bells and whistles celebration from the limousine ride, the dress and a bash for 50 invitees, to the presence of wrestling stars at her party.
I know why wrestling is so popular with Hispanics: Growing up in Mexico, I remember Lucha libre as an important part of Mexican folklore. Santo el Enmascarado de Plata, Blue Demon, el Hijo del Santo, el Perro Aguayo and others are names that made international headlines. And of course U.S. Hispanics growing up in areas such as Texas can remember Rito Romero and Enrique ’Black’ Guzman, Mexican wrestlers that in the 1950s were the heroes of Hispanics in the U.S. So with such deep roots in the culture, the WWE is looking to further grab hold of the Hispanic audience. According to reports from Nielsen Hispanic Television Index, the CW’s Friday Night Smackdown ranks within the top ten highest rated English-language programs among Hispanic viewers while not even figuring in the Top 100 in the overall ratings.
In contrast, the traditional 15th birthday celebration for Hispanic girls could not be farther away from what lucha libre represents. Quinceañeras are the depiction of femininity – flowers, waltzing, a court of fourteen girlfriends and their chambelanes or dance partners, the long and lacey pastel-like gown that makes them dream of being Cinderella -or for that matter any other princess- awaiting the arrival of their príncipe azul, who will come and sweep them off their feet to live happily ever after.
But wait: what if the birthday girl as well as her friends are BIG fans of wrestling? And what if the príncipe azul that she dreams of is a wrestler like The Rock. And more: what if she is also a fan of video games and she and her friends morph themselves into wrestling characters to play Raw vs. Smack Down. Well, the winner of the party will be a very special and happy quinceañera, fulfilling a dream that her most likely Spanish-speaking traditional mother probably never imagined. I certainly would not have put those two together without the help of mun2 and WWE. It seems the ultimate product of audience segmentation, a mix of traditions, likes and acculturation to fulfill a marketing goal.
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