{"id":1400,"date":"2025-07-08T13:17:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T20:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=1400"},"modified":"2025-07-08T13:17:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T20:17:03","slug":"challenging-gender-norms-a-bolivian-skateboarding-collective-celebrates-indigenous-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=1400","title":{"rendered":"Challenging Gender Norms, a Bolivian Skateboarding Collective Celebrates Indigenous Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Challenging<\/p>\n

In Cochabamba, Bolivia, a group of women skateboarders are changing attitudes toward Indigenous traditions one kickflip at a time. Donning customary Quechuan garments like brimmed sombreros <\/em>and colorful polleras<\/em>\u2014wide skirts commonly worn by Andean women\u2014the Imillaskate collective combines a contemporary sport with time-honored cholita <\/em>heritage.<\/p>\n

Colossal readers might recognize some of the women of Imillaskate from Celia D. Luna\u2019s marvelous series of photographs, Cholitas Bravas<\/a><\/em>. A new short documentary directed by Rebecca Basaure and Mariano Carranza and produced by NOWNESS highlights the group\u2019s style and dedication to the community. The film traces the stories of members of Imillaskate, the collective\u2019s mission to construct a skatepark, and their visits to local schools that emphasize self-affirmation and empowerment through skateboarding.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Until fairly recently, Quechuan and Aymara women were derogatorily called \u201ccholitas\u201d and were actively ostracized from society. Known for their long braids, bowler hats, and full skirts\u2014a hybridization of styles resulting from Spanish influence during the\u00a0Inquisition\u2014the style evolved into a look brimming with Indigenous cultural and lineal pride.<\/p>\n

Deys\u012b, an Imillaskate co-founder and award-winning skater, describes how surprised her mother was when she first dressed as a cholita.<\/em> She continues:<\/p>\n

\n

Some people in my generation are embarrassed to wear pollera because the pollera highlight your features\u2014your Indigenous features\u2014highlight what we are as Indigenous people, as the daughters of women of polleras. It\u2019s a part of my family legacy. And without family, I\u2019m nobody.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The inspiring documentary also touches on gender inequalities in Bolivian society, as Imillaskate members share how important mutual support has been through major life transitions like motherhood and the loss of loved ones. \u201cWe rely on each other, just as others rely on us,\u201d says another co-founder, Ell\u012b. \u201cBecause we, as Indigenous people\u2014as Quechuas\u2014we have a collective mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

NOWNESS creates videos that celebrate art, food, travel, fashion, and more. Watch the entire film on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/figure>\n
\"a<\/figure>\n
\"a<\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Challenging Gender Norms, a Bolivian Skateboarding Collective Celebrates Indigenous Style<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Cochabamba, Bolivia, a group of women skateboarders are changing attitudes toward Indigenous traditions one kickflip at a time. Donning customary Quechuan garments like brimmed sombreros and colorful polleras\u2014wide skirts…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1400\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}