Bolivia's Fighting Cholitas: The Story Behind Indigenous Women Wrestlers Battling for Gender Equality

In Bolivia, wrestling is not just a sport dominated by men. Women are allowed to participate, with one group known as "cholitas," revolutionizing the fighting game.

Most people call them "wrestling cholitas." For this group of women, wrestling is not just a sport but an avenue to fight discrimination and injustice among indigenous people, according to World Tour Guide.

The term "chola" or "cholita" was initially considered a derogatory term for indigenous people. However, indigenous women started to embrace the terms that used to demean them.

They instead turn the terms "cholo," "chola," and "cholita" into words conveying pride, bravery, and resilience. The revolutionization of wrestling in Bolivia started in 2001 when Bolivian women began taking the fighting ring.

How Bolivia's Wrestling Cholitas Started?

Bolivian wrestling can trace its roots to Mexican professional wrestling known as "lucha libre," which is known for wrestlers with colorful masks and flamboyant personalities.

Lucha libre wrestling has a usual match, which involves a fight between the "good guys" and the "bad guys' while also featuring various wrestling techniques such as dropkicks, leglocks, and backflips, according to Lonely Planet.

Lucha libre wrestlers are called "luchadores," which the wrestling cholitas adopted, calling themselves "cholitas luchadoras," which translates to "fighting cholitas." The wrestling cholitas movement started when a small circle of women met regularly and used wrestling to relieve stress and restore a sense of empowerment among domestic violence victims.

Titanes del Ring league acknowledged the group and started thinking that female wrestlers might earn greater attention and increase ticket sales. But like any wrestling match, it is more of a performance than an actual fighting match. Most wrestling cholitas' stints are against male wrestlers representing abusive husbands, according to Culture Trip.

Cholita wrestler Polonia Ana Choque Silvestre previously told ABC News that "men didn't want us to wrestle." Silvestre, better known by her stage name Carmen Rosa, is one of Bolivia's first female wrestlers.

Rosa noted that she competed not just for sport but for a cause, which is to fight against the "machismo culture and violence against women" that has been widespread in Bolivia.

More than half of women in Bolivia reported having experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. However, only 1% of all gender-based violence cases are convicted.

The Origin of Cholitas Wrestling in Bolivia

Cholitas dress distinctively in their bowler hats and flamboyant and colorful skirts. They are Bolivia's indigenous Aymara and Quechua women and were known to have experienced being socially ostracized and marginalized.

More than 10 years ago, Cholitas were banned from using certain public spaces, and some had limited career opportunities. The Aymara people were known to have lived in the Andean highlands, known as Altiplano.

Their population was estimated to be about three million scattered across Bolivia, Southern Peru, and Northern Chile. Evo Morales, the former president of Bolivia, is an Aymara descendant. His government was known to have promoted the protection of the indigenous culture.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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