Saturday, May 31, 2008

Bolivia's Fighting Cholitas - Lucha Libre

During a serious channel-surfing fest a few nights ago, I chanced upon Chef Zimmerman on the Travel Channel seeking out "bizarre foods" in Bolivia.

In the midst of Llama brains and chiles, he devoted a few minutes of video to Bolivia's fighting cholitas - a new brand of indigenous, female wrestler that is taking the country by storm. That's right, local ladies in their big skirts, colorful peasant blouses and hats in the ring executing throws and full-body slams. Awesome. Lucha Libre for the masses. The story hit the BBC today. Check out their vid here. These women are way serious, as are the crowds who cheer them on. Male wrestlers often "open" for the much more popular ladies. Just to be clear, we're not talking about spandex body suits and cleavage here. No, these women compete in their full Andean indiginous attire - which makes the spectacle even more unusual. Check it out for yourself.




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