They don’t wrestle for money – which averages to about $12 for the victor – they wrestle because they love it.
In Guatemala, photographer Jorge Luis Chavarría documents the struggles these professional wrestlers in face through his “Lucha Diaria” series (the title nodding at the daily struggle these luchadores face.) Chavarría’s photo series was inspired by a chance run-in with a childhood neighbor, who had since become a luchador, according to The New York Times.
Though today’s wrestling does not have the “glamour that it had” when he was a kid, Chavarría was interested in how far the wrestlers go to do something they are passionate about. Most of them work day jobs to support their families, driving taxis or working in factories, so that on weekends, they can wrestle.
Inside the ring, people may only define them as winners or losers, but through Chavarría’s lens they are also fathers, sons, and heroes.
Check out some of his images below:
For more portraits of luchadores, check out work by photographers Lourdes Groubet and Katinka Herbert.