It is a common misconception that masks in Lucha Libre spring from the Aztec, Inca or Mayan tradition but the mask, or "Máscara" in Spanish, was first introduced in Mexico when a promoter saw American wrestler "Cyclone" McKey working in Texas and decided to bring McKey to work for his promotion, Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL). The Mexican fanbase quickly took to the mystery of the masked man and soon after Mexican wrestlers themselves started wearing masks, becoming "Enmascarados". Early masks were simplistic with strong, basic colors designs that could be recognized even in the back row of the arena. Over the years the masks evolved to become very intricate and colorful drawing on Mexico's rich history. Unlike in other parts of North America the popularity of the masked wrestlers has not waned over the years, with souvenir masks being sold at events and online. In modern lucha libre, masks are colorfully designed to evoke the images of animals, gods, ancient heroes, and other archetypes, whose identity the luchador takes on during a performance. Most wrestlers in Mexico start their career wearing a mask, but over the span of their careers a substantial number of them will be unmasked. Sometimes, a wrestler slated for retirement will be unmasked in one of his final bouts or at the beginning of a final tour, signifying loss of identity as that character. Sometimes, losing the mask signifies the end of a gimmick with the wrestler moving on to a new gimmick and mask, often without public acknowledgement of the wrestler's previous persona.