Though I’m not one for sport, I found the short-film on the fighting cholitas very insightful, especially in a post-colonial setting. I think that any mode for indigenous communities to find empowerment, especially for women, is so critical when Latin America is still feeling the heavy burdens of colonialism. The look on the women’s faces shows us the impact that the sport has on them, it helps them escape their realities for a brief moment. I found the story of the single-mother especially important because the burdens of being a single mother must be incredibly stress-inducing, and for her to have the opportunity to experience sport must make her a better mother and provider for the family. Also, the women’s connection with their indigeneity and the fighting was particularly interesting because even (I think) a tradition that comes from European roots, they have modified it to fit their indigenous identities in a post-colonial world, reclaiming as you will.

The first impression of the short-film is the power that comes from these women navigating their world through fighting in the ring. The second impression is that of the “good” and “bad” fighting cholitas (though I couldn’t really make it out at first) and the connotations of that. The “good” cholita seems to represent a more traditional and conservative cholita defending tradition, the one we see in the film is wearing white and the bad is wearing black, which coincides with the classic idea of white as good and black as bad. The cholita wearing black seemed to have a more modern approach to the traditional cholita outfit. She also presented herself with a more urban and rough demeanour with plays into their dichotomy. I think that the consequence of this dichotomy between the good and the bad also plays into the idea of urban and rural. The good being rural and the urban being bad, suggesting a disdain for the modernization of cholita and Bolivian culture.

Ultimately, I think that this opportunity for the cholitas to fight and express themselves is very important to the future of indigeneity, especially in a world where the boundaries amongst communities are getting more grey as globalization continues to sweep across the world. So, for indigenous communities to find ways to bring themselves together is more important than ever before.

Question: “What imagery and symbols do you notice in the documentary and what consequences (positive or negative) come with them?”