And, even better - they were doing it in colorful, funky masks and matching tights.

The gentle art of lucha libre, or free-style fighting, is now the backdrop for the new comedy "Nacho Libre." Opening Friday, it stars Jack Black as a Mexican cook at a monastery who lives a secret life: to raise money for an orphanage, the corpulent conquistador dons a mask and tights and becomes a professional luchador known as ... Nacho Libre!

Many Americans may know lucha libre only from old Mexican movies and the occasional televised match on Spanish-language television. But the form has been around since the 1930s, and such masked performers as El Santo (the Saint) and Mil Mascaras (Man of a Thousand Masks) starred in both the ring and a series of movies that elevated their characters to near superhero status.

"Nacho" is an affectionate ode to lucha libre, with several real-life Mexican luchadores cast in the film, including Silver King, also known as El Bronco (in real life, Cesar Gonzalez), who plays Nacho's nemesis, Ramses. Also appearing is Mascarita Sagrada (in real life, Gerson Virgen Lopez), a champion midget wrestler who plays one half of a ferocious tag team known as Satan's Helpers. His name translated means "Sacred Little Mask."

Both luchadores recently spoke to the Daily News about their "Nacho" roles.

A lot of people think professional wrestling matches aren't real, that they're all scripted. Say it ain't so.

SILVER KING, AKA EL BRONCO: As far as I know, it is real. People see it as entertainment in the U.S., this big production with a whole story behind a match, so people think it is prepared. Fans who pay their $15 or $20 want to see us tear someone's head off, or break an arm. But wrestlers get hurt. That is real.

MASCARITA SAGRADA: I would have to say it is 100% real. I would not need a knee brace to walk down the street if it were not real! I would not have broken my wrist if it were not real. There have been wrestlers who have been paralyzed, another who has died. It is totally real.

We believe you. Silver King, your character has the climactic match with Nacho Libre himself, Jack Black. Black trained for the movie, but could you kick his butt in real life?

SILVER KING, AKA EL BRONCO: Of course I would defeat him. I have been a professional wrestler for 20 years.

Mascarita, could you take Black?

MASCARITA SAGRADA: Yes, of course. I have six years of technical training and preparation as a wrestler.

Silver King, while you were filming, were there moments when you had to control your natural animal instinct to put a real hurting on Jack Black?

SILVER KING, AKA EL BRONCO: You can make yourself angry when you get into character and forget you are acting. But I remembered it is only a movie, and not a real battle.

Mascarita, why do you think people like to see little guys wrestling?

MASCARITA SAGRADA: For me, it is because of my style of wrestling. I am one of the best in the world. My style is different from the big guys. People think I am at a disadvantage, but I have a lot of advantage. I can do what big men cannot. I can do acrobatic moves that no one else can do.

How do you get to be a famous Mexican wrestler, anyway?

SILVER KING, AKA EL BRONCO: You have to have a physical quality, and then you have to market yourself. The character you create, your personality, is like an investment. It is a business, and you are like merchandise. You also need a promoter, like in boxing, to help you.

Of course you think Mexican wrestlers are better than American wrestlers, right?

SILVER KING, AKA EL BRONCO: There is not a better or a worse. In the U.S., it is all about your physical size and weight. Here in Mexico, we have different qualities. We are smaller and lighter, and we are able to do more maneuvers.

"Nacho Libre" is a comedy, but do you think it will make Mexican wrestling more popular in the U.S.? Or will audiences who have never seen this style laugh it off as just entertainment?

MASCARITA SAGRADA: The movie is in a comic context, of course, but I think it represents the Mexican culture well.

SILVER KING, AKA EL BRONCO: We have been doing this in Mexico for 72 years, and we take it seriously. Jack Black is funny when he fights the midgets. He is funny when he fights a woman. But the fight I have with Jack is not funny.

Luchadore moves!