bolivian lucha libre
This work is drawn from my PhD fieldwork on the "cholitas luchadoras" of La Paz, Bolivia, their male counterparts, and the struggles over authenticity, legitimacy, and cosmopolitanism in which they were engaged. On this page you will find links to videos, news articles, and my own academic articles on the topic, as well as ideas for background readings on the themes with which my work engages. Be advised that I do not necessarily agree with the interpretations in all of this content, and indeed critique some specifically in my work. I present them here as an introduction to the topic, which will allow viewers to see a range of coverage in order to form their own interpretations.
quick links
video
Videos produced by lucha libre groups in La Paz Some documentary projects on the subject
Lider: Juanita la Cariñosa v Carmen Rosa Cholita Libre - NUR Film Group
Lider: Kid Simonin v Benita, Jaider Lee v Reyna T The Fighting Cholitas - Jobrani, Krauss, & Deskins, producers
Lucha de Superheroes [Superhero Wrestling] Mamachas del Ring - Betty Park, director
Or see my full Youtube Playlist of lucha libre videos
Lider: Juanita la Cariñosa v Carmen Rosa Cholita Libre - NUR Film Group
Lider: Kid Simonin v Benita, Jaider Lee v Reyna T The Fighting Cholitas - Jobrani, Krauss, & Deskins, producers
Lucha de Superheroes [Superhero Wrestling] Mamachas del Ring - Betty Park, director
Or see my full Youtube Playlist of lucha libre videos
news articles
academic writing
MY WORK
Kiss With a Fist: The Chola's Humor and Humiliation in Bolivian Lucha Libre (2016, Journal of Language and Sexuality)
UnBoliviable Bouts: Gender and Essentialization of Bolivia's Cholitas Luchadoras (2015, Global Perspectives on Women in Combat Sports: Women Warriors around the World. London: Palgrave Macmillon)
Global Cholas: Reworking Tradition and Modernity in Bolivian Lucha Libre (2013, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology)
Chola in a Choke Hold: Gender, Globalization, and Authenticity in Bolivian Lucha Libre (2013, PhD Dissertation, American University)
Pinning Down the Chola: Bolivian Wrestling and Social Change (2011, Anthropology News)
BACKGROUND READINGS
Albro, Robert. 2000 The Populist Chola: Cultural Mediation and the Political Imagination in Quillacollo, Bolivia. Journal of Latin American Anthropology. 5(2):30-88.
Anderson, Benedict. 1983 Imagined Communities. London: Verso.
Atluri, Tara 2009 Lighten Up?! Humour, Race, and Da Off Colour Joke of Ali G. Media, Culture, & Society 31(2):197-214
Babb, Florence 2011 The Tourism Encounter: Fashioning Latin American Nations and Histories. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press
Barthes, Roland 2000 The World of Wrestling. In Mythologies. Pp 15-25. New York:Harper Collins.
Beeman, William O. 1993 The Anthropology of Theater and Spectacle. Annual Review of Anthropology 22:369-393.
Bigenho, Michelle 2006 Embodied Matters: Bolivian Fantasy and Indigenismo. Journal of Latin American Anthropology 11(2): 267-293.
Canessa, Andrew 2006 Todos somos indígenas: Towards a New Language of National Political Identity. Bulletin of Latin American Research 25(2):241–263.
Conquergood, Dwight 2002 Performance Studies: Interventions and Radical Research. Drama Review 46(2):145–156.
de la Cadena, Marisol 1995 Women are More “Indian”: Ethnicity and Gender in a Community near Cuzco. In Ethnicity, Markets, and Migration in the Andes. Brooke Larson and Olivia Harris, eds. Pp. 329–348. Durham: Duke University Press.
Deloria, Philip J. 1998 Playing Indian. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Desmond, Jane C 1999 Staging Tourism: Bodies on Display from Waikiki to Sea World. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Goffman, Erving 1959 The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, NY: Prentice Hall.
Kohl, Benjamin H. 2002 Stabilizing Neoliberalism in Bolivia: Popular Participation and Privatization. Political Geography 21:449–472.
Lazar, Sian 2008 El Alto, Rebel City: Self and Citizenship in Andean Bolivia. Raleigh, NC: Duke University Press.
Muñoz, José Esteban 1999 Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Schein, Louisa 1999 Performing Modernity. Cultural Anthropology 14(3): 361–395.
Turner, Victor 1987 Carnival, Ritual, and Play in Rio de Janeiro. In Time Out of Time: Essays on the Festival. A. Falassi, ed. Pp. 74-92. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
Wade, Peter 1997 Race and Ethnicity in Latin America. London: Pluto Press.
Weismantel, Mary 2001 Cholas and Pishtacos. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Download a bibliography of important academic work on contemporary Bolivia, with works in both English and Spanish.
Kiss With a Fist: The Chola's Humor and Humiliation in Bolivian Lucha Libre (2016, Journal of Language and Sexuality)
UnBoliviable Bouts: Gender and Essentialization of Bolivia's Cholitas Luchadoras (2015, Global Perspectives on Women in Combat Sports: Women Warriors around the World. London: Palgrave Macmillon)
Global Cholas: Reworking Tradition and Modernity in Bolivian Lucha Libre (2013, Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology)
Chola in a Choke Hold: Gender, Globalization, and Authenticity in Bolivian Lucha Libre (2013, PhD Dissertation, American University)
Pinning Down the Chola: Bolivian Wrestling and Social Change (2011, Anthropology News)
BACKGROUND READINGS
Albro, Robert. 2000 The Populist Chola: Cultural Mediation and the Political Imagination in Quillacollo, Bolivia. Journal of Latin American Anthropology. 5(2):30-88.
Anderson, Benedict. 1983 Imagined Communities. London: Verso.
Atluri, Tara 2009 Lighten Up?! Humour, Race, and Da Off Colour Joke of Ali G. Media, Culture, & Society 31(2):197-214
Babb, Florence 2011 The Tourism Encounter: Fashioning Latin American Nations and Histories. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press
Barthes, Roland 2000 The World of Wrestling. In Mythologies. Pp 15-25. New York:Harper Collins.
Beeman, William O. 1993 The Anthropology of Theater and Spectacle. Annual Review of Anthropology 22:369-393.
Bigenho, Michelle 2006 Embodied Matters: Bolivian Fantasy and Indigenismo. Journal of Latin American Anthropology 11(2): 267-293.
Canessa, Andrew 2006 Todos somos indígenas: Towards a New Language of National Political Identity. Bulletin of Latin American Research 25(2):241–263.
Conquergood, Dwight 2002 Performance Studies: Interventions and Radical Research. Drama Review 46(2):145–156.
de la Cadena, Marisol 1995 Women are More “Indian”: Ethnicity and Gender in a Community near Cuzco. In Ethnicity, Markets, and Migration in the Andes. Brooke Larson and Olivia Harris, eds. Pp. 329–348. Durham: Duke University Press.
Deloria, Philip J. 1998 Playing Indian. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Desmond, Jane C 1999 Staging Tourism: Bodies on Display from Waikiki to Sea World. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Goffman, Erving 1959 The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, NY: Prentice Hall.
Kohl, Benjamin H. 2002 Stabilizing Neoliberalism in Bolivia: Popular Participation and Privatization. Political Geography 21:449–472.
Lazar, Sian 2008 El Alto, Rebel City: Self and Citizenship in Andean Bolivia. Raleigh, NC: Duke University Press.
Muñoz, José Esteban 1999 Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Schein, Louisa 1999 Performing Modernity. Cultural Anthropology 14(3): 361–395.
Turner, Victor 1987 Carnival, Ritual, and Play in Rio de Janeiro. In Time Out of Time: Essays on the Festival. A. Falassi, ed. Pp. 74-92. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
Wade, Peter 1997 Race and Ethnicity in Latin America. London: Pluto Press.
Weismantel, Mary 2001 Cholas and Pishtacos. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Download a bibliography of important academic work on contemporary Bolivia, with works in both English and Spanish.