Wonder twin power
Issue #23
The wrestling Poubelle Twins double your pleasure with sensuality and tenacity- squared
By Jen Hazen
Published: March 1st, 2005 | 12:37pm
Whether gripping a Mexican wrestler in a defying leg grip known as “The Scissors,” or lazily prancing across the wrestling ring in French maid costumes to gather clothing of burlesque dancers, Fifi and Bibi Poubelle are double trouble.
Touring with this year’s Lucha Va Voom (luchavavoom.com), a performance that mingles the violence of Mexican wrestling with the sexiness of burlesque, has given the pair an experience of eclectic proportions. “You know there’s something strange going on in the airport when six-foot, blonde Kitten DeVille is sitting in pin curls next to waist-high mini wrestler Tsuki,” Fifi Poubelle said.
And if you think that these ladies are simply featherweights with pretty faces, think again. “We began training with El Misterioso in January 2004,” Fifi said. “He pushed us to learn more jumps and flips, like flying off the third rope and landing on my opponent in the audience. Done well, it’s amazing, athletic ... and funny. The spectacle of these two lily-white girls, who the crowd knew only as glowering maids, flying around the ring, and actually winning matches, is something unique for the audience.”
What is it like wrestling with the guys in the ring? “The Mexican culture is largely patriarchal — which culture isn’t? — and the men we share the ring with don’t want to have their matches demeaned by women who don’t know what they’re doing,” Fifi said.
Bibi recalls an experience where a 6-year-old audience member begged her not to go up against a ring of wrestlers. “The important thing was that, in the end, she saw me fly like a little bird through the ropes, knock my meaty opponent out, collect myself, and triumphantly rejoice,” she said. “I hope it at least gave this little girl a new perspective on the possibilities of what a woman can accomplish.”
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