All images © Todd Antony, shared with permission
For generations, Indigenous Bolivian women were not allowed to walk freely in the wealthy or central parts of the nation’s capital, La Paz, where they were considered lower-class and expected to stay at home or work in servitude. More recently, this attitude has changed as Aymara and Quechua women have taken back their rights, expressing themselves confidently through characteristically tall bowler hats, long braids, and bright shawls, skirts, and petticoats.
Originally meant as a pejorative term, cholita has been embraced by Aymara and Quechua women, who have adopted the name as a signal of pride. Photographer Todd Antony (previously) caught up with a group who call themselves the “Climbing Cholitas,” and a breathtaking series of images was born in Cholitas Escaladoras.
Armed with ice picks, boots, ropes, and their traditional shawls used in lieu of rucksacks, five Aymara women scaled Argentina’s Mt. Aconcagua—the tallest outside of Asia—in January 2019. The climbers donned helmets but didn’t leave their bowlers at home, summiting the 22,841-foot peak in traditional polleras, or billowing skirts.
You may also enjoy Antony’s series Flying Cholitas, which follows Bolivian luchadoras, or wrestlers, or Celia D. Luna’s series of Bolivian women skateboarders. Find more on Antony’s website and Instagram.
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