Indigenous Women Athletes Paving The Way In Bolivia

Bolivia has an emerging group of athletic leaders who serve as role models for women across the nation. The cholitas are indigenous women, mostly of Aymara and Quechua descent. Historically marginalized and excluded from mainstream society, the Bolivian cholitas gained popularity in the 2000s after the country elected Evo Morales, its first indigenous president. The word cholita once had a derogatory connotation and referred to impoverished women from mixed backgrounds who were deprived of their rights. Today, the term carries a symbolic meaning associated with cultural pride, women empowerment, and perseverance.

Sports have become a passion for many cholita women. The cholitas primarily participate in wrestling, mountain climbing, and fútbol. Their participation in sports is a way to display their cultural heritage, demonstrate strength, and challenge gender stereotypes. Cholitas are widely recognized for wearing fashionable traditional clothing that includes bowler hats, layered skirts, and colorful shawls. Although cholita women are typically from the countryside, several have migrated to cities and are a highly visible in their communities.

El Alto is the second largest city in Bolivia and is a short cable car ride away from La Paz, the country’s administrative capital. Known for its high altitude, El Alto sits at an elevation of 4,150 meters (13,615 feet) and is considered the highest large city in the world. In the early 2000s, El Alto became the birthplace of a wrestling movement involving a group of trailblazing women. The ‘fighting cholitas’ are Bolivian wrestlers inspired by Mexico’s Lucha Libre style of wrestling. Cholitas wear traditional clothing in matches, which is a powerful symbol of their indigenous identity and cultural pride. The cholita wrestling matches are entertaining and contain a blend of comedy, psychology, and athleticism. Wrestling shows are engaging and usually include audience members in the action. Many of the takedowns and submission holds applied by the wrestlers are similar to those used by performers in North American promotions such as WWE or Lucha Libre AAA. The courage, strength, and agility of these women are admirable, and they typically engage audiences once or twice a week.

Cholita wrestling has a theatrical element, but also represents resistance to violence and discrimination, serious issues of historical significance. Many cholitas began wrestling to relieve stress and push back against domestic violence. Cholita women have fought a long battle for equality in Bolivia. Wrestling is typically a part-time job for them and a chance to exercise their freedom of expression. When the cholitas began wrestling for audiences, male managers often took a large cut of the profits, which motivated the wrestlers to form a women-only group called the Cholitas Wrestling Foundation. Additionally, the sport can be dangerous and competitors often get injured. La Poderosa, a cholita wrestler from El Alto, stated “I have trained for years and wrestling can be extremely dangerous.” Despite constant challenges, the cholitas work in the ring defies stereotypes and displays hope for indigenous women interested in pursuing sport opportunities.

Although the wrestling movement pioneered indigenous women’s sport participation in Bolivia, several other cholita athletes are striving to reach new heights. Known as the cholita climbers, a group of Aymara women has summited some of the tallest mountains in Latin America. They wear traditional clothing when mountain climbing and carry a morral (multi-purpose sack) instead of a backpack. In 2019, Jaime Murciego and Pablo Iraburu directed a powerful film that focused on five cholita climbers determined to ascend Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain in the Americas. Cholitas (2019) told the stories of these brave women, most of whom worked in the mountains as cooks and porters. Their pursuit of excellence, freedom, and happiness motivated them to test their physical limits. Lidia Huaylla, a cholita climber who was featured in the film, recently expressed her next big challenge while sitting on a panel discussion at Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB) in La Paz. Huaylla, along with other cholita climbers, want to be the first women wearing skirts to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

From a financial standpoint, the cholita climbers face obstacles in climbing Mount Everest due to the high cost of the equipment. However, they are determined to find ways to finance themselves or attract financial sponsors. Climbing Mount Everest would be an incredible achievement. According to the Himalayan database, fewer than 7,200 different people (as of December 2024) have reached the summit of Mount Everest since 1953. Despite these odds, Huaylla is motivated to find a way to reach the summit and empowers other climbers with the Spanish phrase “Querer es Poder,” which is translates to “to want is to be able”.

Collectively, the cholitas exhibit several leadership qualities. Effective leaders tend to be visionaries with purpose and drive. Whether pioneering a wrestling movement or climbing the tallest mountain in the Americas, cholita athletes are determined to break barriers and challenge stereotypes. They are guided by principles and embrace their heritage, yet challenge themselves to step out of their comfort zones. Their stories have paved the way for indigenous women to pursue their dreams and set the highest of goals. The cholitas effectively communicate a compelling message and serve as an inspiration for men and women around the world.