Literary lucha libre: It’s a battle of words between writers wearing luchador wrestling masks.

Husband and wife tag team Christopher Vazquez and Angie Silva founded an event for Peru’s up and coming writers to compete in the ring, based on the Mexican wrestling tradition of agile men in colorful masks and iridescent, tight-fitting outfits who try to pin each other to the ground.

Lucha Libro writers wear the masks but are allowed to wear street clothes. They get on a stage in a bar in Lima and grapple with each other – using just their words.

Each writer dons a mask and sits at a computer hooked to a projection screen, composing a story in real time. Writers are given a few words as a prompt for each round and have five minutes to write a story. The audience declares the winner.

Lucho Libro co-founder Christopher Vasquez told PRI that he wanted to create the event to help redefine the way that Peruvians relate to literature. It’s “about changing the idea that literature is boring,” he says. “This turns it into an event. Because it’s not just about the opportunity for a young person to become a writer. It’s also about having a place for young people to hang out — and to read.”

I originally saw this article on the Literary Lucha Libre on the LA Times and instantly thought about what this would look like in the classroom or at your school. What about as an edcamp session? (Stephen Davis thought of this tweek) What about as a version of Slam Poetry? What if you had your ASB kids do this to create a new school activity. What if this happened during a staff development day re: lesson planning.