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Saúl Armendáriz is a Mexican icon. Known for his stage name, Cassandro, his story has been the subject of documentaries, profiles in prestigious magazines, and now, a feature film. “Cassandro” stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Bad Bunny and more, and tells the story of Armendáriz, a gay luchador who overcame immeasurable odds to be himself.
© GettyImagesArmendáriz was known for playing an ‘exotico,’ a luchador who fights in drag. These roles were that, roles, usually played by straight men and battling other men known as ‘rudos.’ Exoticos usually came onstage with a mask and the appropriate flamboyant attire. For his debut, Armendáriz wore no mask. “For my entrance, I wore a butterfly blouse of my mother’s. I wore the tail of my sister’s quinceañera dress. And then, to wrestle, a woman’s bathing suit,” he said to the New Yorker. “I thought it was a secret that I was gay, so I thought I was coming out. But everybody already knew. I was the only one who didn’t know.”
Armendáriz was shunned by his father since he was a child. The only person that accepted him was his mother. When she died, he battled intense bouts of addiction. “It was difficult for me to see that he was gay,” said his father. “Machismo—you know. That was why we didn’t talk. But now I accept him, thank God. And we talk all the time.”
© GettyImagesArmendáriz is getting a film adaptation
Roger Ross Williams, the director of “Cassandro,” said that he was incredibly inspired by his story, which is why he wanted to make it into a film. “He triumphed over an entire macho industry, and he did it as his authentic self,” he said. “Learning to love yourself is a big theme in Cassandro and a big theme in all of the lives of all of us, but especially gay people, the LGBT+ community. So I was just so inspired by that story.”
Cassandro premieres this September 15. It’ll be available streaming on Prime Video on September 22nd.
