Bolivia’s Cholitas – From Outcasts to Icons

With their pleated skirts and bowler hats the “cholita” women are a common sight in Bolivia’s administrative capital La Paz. They’re often from indigenous Aymara and Quechua cultures. Until recently cholita was used as a derogatory term to talk about their distinctive traditional clothing and they were discriminated against.

Jane Chambers travels to Bolivia to find out how these women are reclaiming their cultural heritage and going from outcasts to icons and what it says about society. Join her to meet the cholita wrestlers, fashion designers and mountaineers changing public opinion.

Producer: Jane Chambers
Sound Mix: Neil Churchill
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Editor: Penny Murphy

(Image: Cholita Climber - Lidia Huayllas Credit: Jane Chambers/BBC)