Discover Mexican Wrestling in Kensington

So, you're staying in a luxury London hotel in beautiful Kensington and enjoying the many touristic pursuits of the city. Even so, you may start to tire of old buildings and mind-blowing historical facts and start looking for something a little different.

What are your options?

A city of diversity

The good news is that you are spoiled for choice in terms of alternative tourism experiences. A recent official UK government statistic indicated that over half the population of the UK capital was either born outside of the UK or is not a British citizen. That’s a quite staggering figure, and whatever other implications arise from that in the domain of politics, you can be sure that the modern British capital is an incredibly colourful and diverse place.

In and around the typical London hotel in Kensington, you will be able to find cuisine from just about every corner of the globe. Not only that, you’ll also be able to discover entertainment and diversions that are similarly varied in terms of their cultural origin.

But it has to be admitted that not all of these are necessarily entirely authentic. For example, two very large men pushing each other around enthusiastically in a Kensington park whilst wearing loincloths doesn’t necessarily constitute an authentic Japanese Sumo experience for bystanders! It’s important to try and distinguish between well-intentioned amateurs doing something for tourism as well as their own income/amusement and a real cultural display.

London, like just any other major centre of tourism, has its fair share of gimmickry that’s well worth steering clear of. However, if you take a little trouble to look around carefully and combine that with the advice of the staff at your London hotel, you will probably be able to find some very different alternative ways to spend your time. One such example is Mexican Wrestling or “Lucha Libre”.

Mexican Wrestling at the Royal Albert Hall

One of the advantages of staying in Kensington is that it is either on the doorstep of some of the major entertainment centres of the United Kingdom. That includes some major museums and the Royal Albert Hall. At these prestigious venues, if you see some light cultural entertainment advertised you can be relatively sure that you are getting something of high quality, with a degree of credibility.

For example, Mexican wrestling is occasionally put on under the Royal Albert Hall’s famous dome. If you have never seen it, expect an absolute riot of colour, Mexican music, hilarious laughter and a very flamboyant display on the part of the wrestlers concerned. If you like your entertainment sedate, calm and extremely undemanding on the nerves, then this isn’t going to be for you!

Almost inevitably with wrestling, the question arises as to whether or not the contests are genuine or fake. To some extent, that is missing the point. The athleticism and grace displayed by some of these typically large men is quite staggering to behold. This is theatre mixed with choreographed movement. There are also often recognisable "Good versus Bad" storylines and all this needs to be enjoyed in its own context, without worrying whether or not the result was preordained and everything scripted. In fact, there is a lot of freedom and unpredictably in Mexican wrestling and the participants take it seriously.

This is just one example of the phenomenal diversity of entertainment you will be able to find around your London hotel in Kensington. Your stay in the area doesn’t have to be exclusively about awe-inspiring artwork or serious history and architecture. It can also be about a lot of good old-fashioned fun!