Masked Republic have teamed up with filmmaker & archivist Viviana García-Besné to expand their Cinelucha brand.
The company created Cinelucha in 2022. Their goal was to modernize the historical lucha libre brand of movies and comic books. These starred some of the biggest lucha stars of the 20th century.
As part of this initiative, they publishing their own comic books and tabletop games, inspired by the media of the past. The creation of Cinelucha came on the back of their “Legends of Lucha Libre” brand of merchandise. They have now expanded into the world of classic cinema, as confirmed in a new press release.
Masked Republic confirmed the agreement with Permanencia Voluntaria, led by Viviana García-Besné. Permanencia Voluntaria restores and preserves historic lucha libre movies that starred legends like El Santo and Blue Demon from the 1960s and 1970s. Masked Republic are now able to create merchandise for these films.
Kevin Kleinrock, Masked Republic President & COO spoke about the deal in an official press release. He revealed that they had wanted to license the classic movies for the past six years.
“Ever since we launched our Legends of Lucha Libre brand to create officially licensed products for the icons, legends and superstars of lucha libre six years ago, we have been fielding inquiries as to when both fans and retailers would be able to get their hands on officially licensed merchandise from the classic films,” Kleinrock said. “Now, by teaming up with Viviana and Permanencia Voluntaria, we are very proud and excited to be able to do just that!”
Permanencia Voluntaria remastered movies such as Santo y Blue Demon vs. El Doctor Frankenstein and Las Luchadoras contra La Momia, which will soon likely have merchandise available for them by Masked Republic.