WITH an animal grunt of triumph, the butch, frizzy-haired, high-booted wrestler whirled her opponent round by the hair and flung her out of the ring on to the floor.
The crowd hooted and Tania turned to acknowledge the applause of her fans and spit four letter epithets at her detractors.
Her moment of glory was brief, as with teeth bared and fists clenched, Cinthya Moreno hurtled back through the ropes and lashed out with a vicious kick to the chest. Moaning in pain, Tania collapsed and the spectators jeered and yelled, drowning the referee's count.
This is wrestling, Mexican style, and a more popular recreation is hard to find. Bullfighting is no longer politically correct, and futbol just doesn't have the same ''feel good'' feeling.
To let off steam and witness the archetypal struggle between good and evil which characterises so much of Mexican life, there's no place like the Arena Mexico, home of ''Lucha Libre.'' This translates as ''Free Fighting'' and there are no prizes for guessing the etymology.
It's a mixed crowd who flood into the 5,000 seat stadium, paying around HK$40 for a rickety, hard seat. Old grannies, urchins and trendily clad nymphets.