“The Sons of El Rey” and the masks we hide behind
By hola | Published | No Comments
As Ernesto Vega, a legendary Mexican luchador, waits on his deathbed for his final breath, he has no choice but to confess his secrets to the lingering ghosts of his past.
Memories split between Ernesto, his already deceased wife, Elena, and the spirit of his luchador persona, El Rey Coyote, stitch together to narrate Ernesto’s journey from Michoacán pig farmer to Mexico City A-list luchador to East Los Angeles gym owner, and all that it cost to get there. In the present day, Ernesto’s son, Freddy, focuses on keeping his father’s gym from shutting down and fading into gentrified memory. Grandson Julian struggles to balance professional and romantic failures as a gay Mexican American in a post-COVID world. Through three generations of distinct voices, “The Sons of El Rey,” by Alex Espinoza, explores legacy, love and the consequences of hiding one’s identity behind a mask.
Part family saga and part immigrant story, “The Sons of El Rey” is equally an important love letter to lucha libre, the Mexican professional wrestling art form that both ties and distances each generation of Vega from one another. For the uninitiated, lucha libre is regarded for its flamboyant tricks and vibrant costumes. But for those like Ernesto — the downtrodden, everyday man with neither the societal freedom to explore his true desires nor an outlet to vent through — la lucha has evolved from a cultural expression into its own mythology.
With a colorful mask and the right storyline, an ordinary person transforms into a force of nature, a god. La lucha is what breathes life into Ernesto’s dreary existence and what gave birth to El Rey Coyote, but this alter ego eventually becomes yet another cruel reminder of what Ernesto can never be.
Espinoza does a brilliant job of balancing the stories of each narrator. Elena’s growingly bitter resentment towards her loveless marriage highlights the power imbalances macho cultures trap women in as she haunts Ernesto from beyond the grave. Like countless other children of immigrants, Freddy tucks away the grief of watching his once indomitable father wither away in hospice by burying himself in work and toughing it out, rejecting help no matter how much he needs it. Seemingly distant from the other narratives, yet just as gripping, Julian becomes a sex worker to make ends meet and is forced to entertain the racial sexual fantasies of his middle-aged, white clientele. And Ernesto, no matter how much he tries to be the strong, loyal husband society and Elena expect him to be, cannot resist his true feelings for another. Each character — even those without narrator roles — is as complex as the secrets they’ll do anything to hide.
“The Sons of El Rey” is a refreshing Mexican American story with all the jaw-dropping revelations of a classic TV drama. Espinoza captures the struggles of a politically unstable Mexico and its people, and the cultural erosion of Los Angeles as gentrification squeezes out historical communities for whitewashed replacements. Heartbreaking and hopeful all at once, the story’s final scene serves as a reminder of Ernesto’s most important lesson: the fight never ends.
— Story by Michelle Benitez
— Copy edited by Kami Waller
Michelle Benitez (she/her) is a first-generation Mexican American from Naples, Florida. She graduated from Florida State University with a double major in editing, writing and media, and Spanish. During her time at Florida State, she developed a passion for text production/publications that promote Latine voices and challenge the current publishing industry’s market. Michelle aspires to become a developmental editor and enjoys bowling, reading and window shopping.
Recent Stories
Leave a Reply