BENICIA, Calif. (AP) — The handwritten sign at a Northern California public library warned patrons to expect more noise than usual. That warning quickly proved to be an understatement as professional wrestlers, accompanied by booming music, thundered into the reading space and jumped into a ring flanked by row upon row of bookshelves.
Dozens of children and adults greeted the theatrics with hoots and hollers at the Benicia Public Library in Benicia, California.
Welcome to “Lucha Libro,” a high-energy, action-packed story time that is bringing live wrestling matches to libraries across the U.S. to promote literacy. Founded in 2024, “Lucha Libro” plays off the name of the popular Mexican-inspired sport of Lucha Libre. Libro means book in Spanish.
Libraries are typically sedate places, but the wrestlers did not hold back. They body slammed their opponents and aerial kicked each other in the chest.
Among the brawny wrestlers was “Llama Jack,” sporting a black mask with furry ears, who read “Llama Llama Time to Share,” before being interrupted by his rivals barging into the ring. He took them down in minutes and then finished the story.
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Over 40 events are planned this year at libraries from California to New Jersey. One of the most popular wrestlers on the circuit is the fighting librarian, “Richard Shhnary.”
The idea started in 2024 when Lucha Libro’s CEO, Jerry Rocha, and co-founder, Victor Dwight, were approached to put on a show at a local library, Rocha said in an email. Dwight wrestles as “Victor Von Richter.”
A year later, Lucha Libro debuted at the Benicia library.
Two worlds that were never meant to cross paths have since collided in the most spectacular way, Rocha said.
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This gallery was curated by photojournalist Jeff Chiu based in San Francisco.
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