(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)

It’s not summer in South Park without the masked wrestlers of Lucha Libre Volcánica putting on a show. Today was the day.

Their ring has popped up in multiple South Park spots in recent years – from Duwamish Waterway Park to a closed street to, today, the future South Park Plaza. The performances, however, haven’t changed – the luchadores work the ring in the Mexico-born style. Like so many variants of pro wrestling over the years, there are characters – heroes and villains – costumes, stage names. Like Santa Muerte:

Here she is in action against Nick Wayne:

Nick and Jet Knight ended that bout triumphant over Santa Muerte and her partner (accomplice?). The opening bout featured Rey Jaguar, El Tapatio, Alcatan, and Dragon Quetzal:

Here’s Rey Jaguar in mid-air:

And Alcatan from the same bout:

Lucha Libre has a lot in common with acrobatics. Check out these moves from Kid Cuervo, Spartano, and Halcon Negro‘s bout:

All the while, the announcer keeps up the running narration, and if not directly involved at the moment, the luchadores will encourage cheering – this is sport/theater that thrives on crowd engagement.

Today’s show was part of the first-ever South Park Barrio Party, which also included vendors, food, and music. Lucha Libre Volcánica – which is a school as well as a troupe – also performs around the region; you can check their schedule here.