MEXICO CITY — In the parking lot of a youth center in Mexico City’s Tacuba neighborhood, the Baha Men’s iconic song, “Who Let the Dogs Out,” plays over a pair of large speakers. As the catchy tune hits the crowd of over 100 people, everyone begins to sing: “Wisin, Wisin, Wisin!”
Quickly, a giant, fluffy creature descends three flights of stairs, lighting fans as it leaps around the perimeter of a wrestling ring. The children run to give him a tight hug, while their parents greet him. A woman holds a sign that says: “Wisin, I love you!” adorned with footprints.
With floppy ears and a tail on his costume that comes undone after every fight, Wisin, the “luchador puppy”, captured the imagination of fans across Mexico.
Since the beginning of the summer, videos of a wrestler dressed as a puppy fighting in “lucha libre” matches have been circulating on Mexican social media. Although the popular Mexican form of wrestling has been around for decades, Wisin entered the wrestling scene just a few months ago.
Lucha libre has suffered in recent years, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, when nearly all fights were canceled and an unusually high number of fighters died from COVID-19. Wrestling, the second most followed sport in the country, also was a victim of drug cartel violence in 2021.
Wisin was originally created by the Mexico City Youth Institute to motivate children to exercise. However, his character quickly evolved into a viral meme on Instagram, TikTok and X.
One of the first videos of Wisin to emerge showed him fighting at the same youth center in early May, climbing into the ring, clocking 1 million views on X.
Another fan video edit with over 500,000 likes has a tongue-in-cheek caption that reads: “My psychologist: there is no such thing as a luchador puppy.” The video then shows evidence of Wisin waving to fans and performing a backflip on an opponent.
Mexico has a history of taking everyday characters and turning them into eccentric but wildly popular memes that often translate into the physical world. In 2022, Mexican music fans converted a national pharmacy mascot, Dr. Simi, into plush toys to play with their favorite artists.
Likewise, Wisin’s popularity soared in real life. His fights attract fans of all ages – Mexican children and adults. Given that lucha libre matches are mostly dominated by older male fans, he created a space for children to enjoy the spectacle.
At Wisin’s last fight, Juan Carlos Naviera Torres, 35, waited on the sidelines with his 6-year-old son, José Isaac. Torres had a smile on his face as his son held a small doggy bag he brought in support of Wisin. “I’ve enjoyed lucha libre since I was young, now my son can enjoy it too,” he said.
“I think he (Wisin) is an inspiration,” said Mitchelle Magdaleno, who brought her son to the match. “I haven’t seen him fight yet, but I know he’s good.”
Accompanied by fellow luchadores “Andy Panda” and “Gravity”, Wisin was ready to fight another trio of opponents.
As the rain fell and the crowd dispersed, Wisin did not back down. He climbed to the side of the ring, flying into the air to knock his rival to the ground. “One two three!” shouted the referee as Wisin pinned his opponent. He made a celebratory run around the ring – the “luchador puppy” emerged victorious again.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
