Luisa Dorr PHmuseum Limited Edition Print
Luisa Dorr PHmuseum Limited Edition Print
The history of the cholitas is as fascinating as their iconic dress. As indigenous women, the cholitas have long been one of Bolivia’s most marginalized groups. With limited career opportunities and a need to put food on the table, the women began organizing and advocating for civil rights in the 1960s. Over the years, as these women gained more power and freedoms, becoming more equal to their male counterparts, the term, “cholitas,” lost its derogatory connotation. Now, it’s a symbol of female empowerment. Many years ago, in Mexico, in the cradle of wrestling, the Super Barrio was created. Around the same time, in El Alto, Bolivia’s most creative territory, the Fighting Cholitas were born. What follows is part acrobatics, part theatrics. In traditional Bolivian dress, the cholitas launch themselves at each other, executing perfect moves in a dishevelled quest to win. They climb the corner ropes high above the ring and “fly” across the stage, like any Hollywood hero endowed with superpowers; hence their nickname “flying cholitas”.