CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Encantos, an award-winning education technology company, today announced a partnership with Masked Republic to develop a new lucha libre-inspired kids property. Inspired by real life luchadores and Mexican mythology, the new Encantos Original property will take lucha libre culture beyond the wrestling ring, teaching learning, literacy, and life skills to kids around the world. As the leader in lucha libre, Masked Republic’s Legends of Lucha Libre division acts as the “player’s association of luchadores” representing dozens of the industry’s top icons, legends and superstars for name, image, likeness and intellectual property rights.
Officially declared “an intangible part of the culture of Mexico” by the Mexican government, lucha libre has grown from amusing entertainment to a national pastime to an international global phenomenon. The top lucha libre stars in Mexico, known as luchadores, have transcended the ring and have become stars of film and comic books and heroes to kids of all ages.
“At the heart of everything Masked Republic does is the desire to give underrepresented children and families more access to heroes and icons who look like them, and to share the great heroes and icons of Mexico with the rest of the world,” said company founder and CEO Ruben Zamora. “The opportunity to partner with the leading kid-focused creator platform and bring our characters, stories, and culture into their storyteaching platform, it’s a powerful tag team for today’s multicultural world.”
The partnership will launch the property as a storyworld, a creator channel, on the Encantos platform. Acclaimed Mexican-American character artist Zoro Rodriguez, who recently joined Encantos as a Creative Director after 12 years at DreamWorks Animation, will lead art and character direction for the as-yet-untitled property. Rooted in cultural authenticity along with fun, engaging characters and stories, the property will highlight key 21st-century skills like creativity, collaboration, and resilience.
“As the child of educators, finding the right manner by which to incorporate lucha libre storytelling into educational opportunities has been a goal of mine over the last decade as we have continued to build Masked Republic,” said company President & COO Kevin Kleinrock. “And, over that same period, the importance of kids learning the new fundamentals for a fundamental changed world has only grown. As an edtech innovator, Encantos has developed the best platform to allow storyteachers like us to inspire kids to learn through interactive play and we can’t wait to bring this to life with their amazing team.”
“There will be so many things that kids will love about this storyworld - adventure, comedy, mystery all with a mythical lucha libre twist,” said Encantos Chief Story Officer Susie Jaramillo. “We’re already working on it, and I’m thrilled to bring something this entertaining, meaningful, and culturally authentic to kids and families around the world.”
ABOUT ENCANTOS
Encantos is a storyteaching platform empowering creators from around the world to help kids learn 21st-century skills. With diversity, equality, and inclusion at the core of everything it does, Encantos is bringing together creators who want to teach with kids who want to learn in fun, engaging, and effective ways. Committed to its mission of democratizing, diversifying and personalizing learning for kids around the world, Encantos is an award-winning education technology company and has been honored by Common Sense Media, the Emmy’s, and Kidscreen; has been featured by CNBC, Forbes, and The New York Times; and was named by Fast Company one of “The 10 most innovative education companies of 2021.” Headquartered in Culver City, Calif., Encantos is a public benefit corporation backed by purpose-driven investors including Concrete Rose Capital, Human Ventures, Kapor Capital, L’ATTITUDE Ventures, Metrodora Ventures, Next Play Ventures, and Precursor Ventures. For more information, visit encantosworld.com and follow @encantos on Instagram and Twitter.
About Masked Republic®
Masked Republic, a privately held company, is the first integrated live event, merchandising and media organization uniquely centered in the emerging growth market of lucha libre and dedicated to expanding the sport, deemed an integral part of Mexican culture, beyond the borders of Mexico. The company’s core lines of business include representation of dozens of the biggest stars in the industry, worldwide merchandising through the company’s Legends of Lucha Libre® brand, live event production and creation, management, production and distribution of content across multiple platforms including television, home entertainment, pay-per-view digital media and film. The company is headquartered in San Diego, CA with offices in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Mexico City and London. For more information, visit MaskedRepublic.com and follow @MaskedRepublic across social media.