Newsflash: 2nd Place in Sinchi’s 2017 Photo competition

1st runner up – Delphine Blast

Cholitas (Bolivia)

The iconic bowler hat, the long black braids, the adjusted corset, and the brightly colored puffed skirt: their outfit is well known all around the world. The mythical cholitas are a strong symbol of Bolivia. In colloquial Spanish, the “cholita” means a young Bolivian woman very identified with the indigenous culture. These women have always retained the characteristic fashion style of the Aymara tradition, from the plains of the Altiplano that surround the capital, La Paz. Yet for decades, they have suffered an important racial and social discrimination. The term “cholita”, very pejorative then, pointed to the poor country girl, deprived of all her rights. Everything changed in 2006 with the election of Evo Morales. First Amerindian president in the history of Bolivia, it has enhanced the status of the cholitas and has brought them to the front of the stage. They acquired little by little a new status in the Bolivian society especially through their outfit that is unique to them. In scenes that were unimaginable 10 or 20 years ago, nowadays they have real clout in the economic, political, and even fashion worlds.

The new generation of the cholitas wears today the colors of their origins with pride. Between tradition and modernity, they manage to express their cultural heritage, but also their plight for recognition among the urban society. The cholitas have managed to find their place in modern society without denying their collective past. They are an expression of the dignity of Indian populations. After having dedicated several works to the situation of women in Latin America, I wanted to go to Bolivia, to meet these women in order to understand what it means to be a cholita today. Spending two months there, I met dozens of cholitas. To honor them and keep track of their culture, of their peculiarities, I chose to recreate a photo studio in the center of the capital. The women came there to pose, on background of traditional Bolivian fabrics. In postproduction, the bias was to give this background a circular shape, representing thus the Pachamama, the Mother Earth, emblematic of the Bolivian culture. If the images refer to postcards from anthropological photography of the early twentieth century, they also renew the perception of the local womanhood. Clothing and decorative indices of each cholita are holders of identity claims and social developments.