Exóticos are male wrestlers dressed in drag portraying gay caricatures. While most exóticos were straight, both Babe Sharon and Saúl Armendáriz (Cassandro) were gay.
Cassandro (2023) is director Roger Ross Williams' first narrative film. He previously told Cassandro's story in his 2016 documentary short The Man Without a Mask.
Saúl Armendáriz (Cassandro) (born May 20, 1970) is an American-born Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler, who works as an exótico for several independent promotions all over the world under the ring name Cassandro. He is a former NWA World Welterweight and UWA World Lightweight Champion, becoming the first exótico in history to hold a championship in UWA. At the age of 15, Armendáriz quit school and began training lucha libre in Juárez. He eventually took the ring name of Cassandro, from a Tijuana brothel keeper named Cassandra, whom he adored. His career was marred by gay discrimination, causing him to attempt suicide in 1991, and also abuse of drugs and alcohol. But he achieved sobriety in 2003, and continued wrestling until 2017.
Cassandro (2023) had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2023, and was released by Amazon Studios in a limited release on September 15, 2023, prior to streaming via Prime Video on September 22, 2023.
The motor factory wrestling event at the start may seem a bit far-fetched as a venue, but in actuality, many such locations host independently run shows.