Authors
Nell Haynes
Publication date
2013/11/1
Journal
The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology
Volume
18
Issue
3
Pages
432-446
Description
This article examines indigenous women wrestlers (luchadoras) in La Paz, Bolivia, and the ways in which they creatively use tourists’ assumptions that they are “traditional” peoples performing in “exotic” events. Since 2001, indigenous women have participated in lucha libre—a form of wrestling that draws its lineage from wrestling in Mexico and the United States. Travelers often assume it represents a traditional form, however, because the luchadoras base their wrestling personas and costuming on chola market women. I explore how the luchadoras utilize these perceptions and the resulting media attention to claim cosmopolitan identities. Not only do they gain social status and mobility, but they also see themselves as positive representatives of Bolivian women for a global audience.
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