Padrino: Spanish for Godfather, in the context of lucha libre, a padrino is the luchador that sponsors or mentors a new wrestler (though not always) through during his first match as a professional. A padrino will most often present a new luchador with his equipo and his mask, if he wears one, (though he did not necessarily purchase it) as a gesture of welcoming him to professional lucha libre-- this ritual is known as the bautizo (baptism).
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| Palacio Negro and his padrino Averno |
Who a padrino is varies, but it is regularly accepted that a padrino for a new wrestler will most often be the wrestler with whom he fights his first match, most often a veteran wrestler*. However, a padrino may also be a maestro who acts as a mentor outside the ring, or the parent of a luchador who chooses to to wrestle as a junior (ex: the padrino for Rayo de Jalisco Jr. was his father Rayo de Jalisco Sr.)
Magnus making his debut luchistico
*Editors Note: During my time in Mexico, a luchador who had only been wrestling for under a year shared with me his story of his bautizo and his first match. He mentioned that his padrino was not a veteran wrestler, but rather his cousin who was making his professional debut in the same match as him. In this case, the padrino was not someone who had mentored the luchador, but rather someone who had trained with him from the beginning.
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