Cholitas: Bolivia's Female Wrestlers take on Stereotyping

Series: How Societies Work - A Look at Unconvential Arrangements

Story by: Cecilia Lanza
Summary

El Alto, Bolivia. Migrant indigenous women wearing huge skirts called "polleras" participate in a weekly wrestling spectacle. These women (cholas cachascanistas) have displaced men from this traditionally male spectacle. What is really behind all this - it is surely more than indigenous people fighting like wild women? And from another point of view: is this a survival strategy, a creative way to alleviate poverty? Finally: how is the entertainment industry related to these wonderful women?

 

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