美国国家公共电台 NPR In Mexico, The Crowd Loves To Hate Pro Wrestler Who Plays Trump Supporter

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Mexico has taken its share of punches from President Trump¹. He's accused Mexico of sending rapists and criminals to the U.S. And he's threatened to make it pay for a border wall. Well, all of this has left Mexicans confused, angry and ready to blow off some steam. Mexican professional wrestling is giving its fans that chance. James Fredrick has this story from Mexico City.

JAMES FREDRICK, BYLINE²: Sam Polinksy is getting his long, blond mohawk straightened. He's transforming into his wrestling alter ego³, Sam Adonis.

SAM POLINSKY: In a few minutes, I have to put on my spray tan. I make sure my tights are in tip-top shape and clean. My boots will be polished.

FREDRICK: The 6-foot-5 American is fighting tonight in Arena⁴ Mexico, the holy site of Mexican lucha libre. It's a mix of wild acrobatics⁵, slapstick comedy and a battle between good and evil. Sam's been fighting here as a bad guy for several months. But his career has skyrocketed since Donald Trump was elected.

POLINSKY: So I had the perfect idea. Why not come to the ring with a flag? But I want to take this to a whole other level. And I have a, you know, 4-foot flag with a giant face of Donald Trump on it.

FREDRICK: That's right. Sam plays a Trump fanatic⁶ who gets to beat up on Mexicans in the ring. He's using Trump's insults and threats against Mexico to bring real emotions into the show. Backstage at the arena, he pulls on his tights, spray painted an array of neon colors. On his right butt⁷ cheek - Donald Trump's face. Now, I have to ask the obvious question. Is he a Trump fan?

POLINSKY: I can't say I support him. But I definitely support him more than Hillary Clinton. But I'm definitely thankful he's in the position because it's putting more money in my pocket.

FREDRICK: It's showtime. Sam is lined up in a 3-versus⁸-3 match - good guys versus villains⁹. You can guess which side Sam's on. He takes the stage under the spotlight¹⁰. He smiles and snarls¹¹, waving his Trump flag.

The fight is about to start. And Sam is down on the ground, saluting¹² the crowd, waving his American flag with Trump's face on it around. And the crowd is worked up. He's being met with expletives and middle fingers everywhere he looks. It's getting rough in here.

With flips¹³ and kicks, the fight heats up. Everything hinges on Sam's actions. When he wins a takedown, he taunts¹⁴ the audience, and they yell back.

(BOOING)

FREDRICK: When he gets body slammed, the crowd erupts in euphoria.

(CHEERING)

FREDRICK: In the end, Sam and his fellow baddies lose. He leaves the stage sheepishly as the crowd taunts him. Backstage, Angel de Oro, a masked Mexican wrestler¹⁵ decked out in gold, stays firmly in character as he talks about beating up Sam.

ANGEL DE ORO: (Speaking Spanish).

FREDRICK: "To be honest, it felt good hitting him," he says through his mask. "We returned every one of the insults he threw at the Mexican people with a punch."

DE ORO: (Speaking Spanish).

FREDRICK: But something unexpected happens. I go back into the arena, asking fans what they thought of this Trump-loving gringo. And everyone I speak to reacts like Marco Espinosa.

MARCO ESPINOSA: (Speaking Spanish).

FREDRICK: "He's great," he says. "The important part of lucha libre is to relieve your stress, to yell, for the crowd to get fired up. He's the best."

By being the ultimate bad guy, Sam ignites the crowd and turns the Mexican fighters into heroes. As for the future of the Trump character, Sam says he'd reconsider using it if the situation between the U.S. and Mexico turned violent. But right now he thinks this Trump gag is going to make him a star.

POLINSKY: I want to be larger than life. I want to be a part of the culture, part of everything. I want to be, you know, for all intents and purposes, the Hulk Hogan of Mexico.

FREDRICK: For NPR News, I'm James Fredrick in Mexico City.

(SOUNDBITE OF BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT SONG, "EVERYBODY DAYLIGHT")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

4 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

5 acrobatics   

n.杂技

参考例句：

• Acrobatics is hard to learn but beautiful to watch.杂技不好学，但很好看。
• We watched a performance which included a puppet show and acrobatics.我们观看了一场演出，内容有木偶和杂技。

6 fanatic   

n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。
• I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子，但我是基督徒。

7 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

8 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

9 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

11 snarls   

n.（动物的）龇牙低吼( snarl的名词复数 )；愤怒叫嚷（声）；咆哮（声）；疼痛叫声v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的第三人称单数 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• I don't know why my hair snarls easily. 我不知道我的头发为什么容易缠结。 来自辞典例句
• She combed the snarls out of her hair. 她把头发的乱结梳理通。 来自辞典例句

12 saluting   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• 'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢，先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎，马上就和她攀谈起来了，连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句

13 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

14 taunts   

嘲弄的言语，嘲笑，奚落( taunt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He had to endure the racist taunts of the crowd. 他不得不忍受那群人种族歧视的奚落。
• He had to endure the taunts of his successful rival. 他不得不忍受成功了的对手的讥笑。

15 wrestler   

n.摔角选手，扭

参考例句：

• The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
• The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。