Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Today’s Video: Bolivia's cholita wrestlers

Last March we talked about a wrestling match in California with “Super Mojado”, a grappler created as a defender of immigrants’ rights. The storyline of the bout was a battle of justice-vs.-injustice as the hero beat the heel named “INS Man.”

In a similar vein, the 2006 documentary “Fighting Cholitas” examined the weekly wrestling matches in Bolivia between women dressed in traditional, indigenous garb. Fans enjoy the distraction of watching the bouts while the wrestlers emphasize righteousness and dignity:

What emerges is a complex set of reasoning, based on pride in who they are and what the clothes they wear stand for. This isn’t just a fight in an arena, but a fight for identity as well.

The following video is the trailer for the film:

(Hat tip: The Latin American Post).

Sources- Motofilms, The Latin Americanist, Eye for Films, The Latin American Post

2 comments:

Lillie Langtry said...

I first read about the 'wrestling cholitas' here, but it now looks like the BBC has picked up on the story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7429029.stm

Erwin C. said...

Interesting find, Lille.

Thank you for your comment!