¡Land of the Lucha Libre!

Luchadors. Mexican wrestlers. They’ve all got a story – and a logo. Their mask.

Where does the mask come from?

Aztecs, if you’re being dreamy and distant. The need for self-promotion, if you’re being 20th century and consumerist.

But hold that disbelief for one second. There are stories behind those masks. There’s honour and history behind the luchadors, even when they’re fighting werewolves in comic books.

Can the same be said of the WWF (WWE?) loudmouth? The hard-selling capitalist breed of this noble and ridiculous warrior, changing identity and allegiance as the money takes him?

I’m not sure. But I know I prefer the underdog’s story. And it takes good storytelling to get millions transfixed by a single TV second, over and over.

Take it away, Santo…

Related: Brazilian logo mashing.

Event: Lucha Libre in London this July.

Remember: This is just cultural mash-up. But feel free to start a serious discussion if you want one…

Hurdling the Hoo-Ha

What are the Olympics?

Even in this age of media splintering, they’re a festival of global hypnosis. Each one, in time, becomes a cultural artefact.

Without resorting to a Google, I can’t tell you anything about Mexico ’68. Apart from the fact it had a great logo.

Beijing 2008 is already crafting its legacy. PR disaster leads the pack. After events in Paris and London (to name just two of the incidents), it’s going to take a spectacular recovery to turn things around. And that’s before we’ve even heard a starter’s gun.

But whatever the political obstacles, for an Olympics to get off on the B of the BANG it needs well-honed branding. Here, notoriously, London 2012 false-started.

You can check out 100 years of high-performance Olympic design if you’re in London this weekend. And wherever you are in the world, events in Beijing this summer will eventually find their place in your cultural memory.

Recommended: What is the World Cup? Eric Hobsbawn‘s thoughts on ‘Nations and Nationalism in the New Century’.