Last weekend, GLAAD co-hosted an unforgettable brunch with the team behind Prime Video’s new film Cassandro, to celebrate the release of this groundbreaking new film.
Cassandro, starring Gael García Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Perla De La Rosa, Joaquín Cosío, and Raúl Castillo and special appearances by El Hijo del Santo and Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny), tells the true story of Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, who rises to international stardom after he creates the character ‘Cassandro,’ the “Liberace of Lucha Libre.” In the process, he upends not just the macho wrestling world, but also his own life. The film was directed by Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams.
This brunch celebration featured drag performances from some iconic queens and moving speeches from GLAAD and Cassandro’s team about the importance of the film. Cassandro authentically highlights the queer Latin American experience and is coming out just in time for Latine Heritage Month.
In true Lucha Libre fashion, the brunch also included a ‘Guess The Exótico Song’ contest!
When speaking about the importance of representation in the film, director Roger Ross Williams has said, “Cassandro went through rejection for so many years and had this sort of need to prove himself to the world. He has something to prove to everyone. And he loses everything and realizes that it’s serving a bigger purpose of being inspiring to young gay kids, giving him much more satisfaction and much more purpose in life than serving himself. We made it a very profoundly personal emotional story.”
Cassandro is playing at select theaters now and will be available for streaming globally on Prime Video starting September 22nd.