The afternoon starts with a minute's silence for Pope John Paul II, who died the night before. But that's the last mark of respect we'll be seeing here today. When John Peralis, the ringmaster, takes the mic in his shiny shoes and curly perm to announce the first of seven 20-minute bouts, the spectators, each of whom has paid a $1 entrance fee, respond by screaming, "Give it to him."

It's Sunday afternoon at a breezeblock gym in El Alto, the poverty- stricken slums that tower above downtown La Paz. Whole families sit ringside spitting mandarin pips, while grannies in the traditional cholita dress of big, loose skirts and bowler hats prepare to lob popcorn viciously at the losers. Welcome to lucha libre (freeform wrestling), the latest sports craze sweeping Bolivia.