Bolivia’s Cholita skaters ImillaSkate fight for gender equality and indigenous pride with clothing

Reconnecting with their ancestry while finding sisterhood through skateboarding, Imillaskate is an indigenous female skate collective based in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba – bonded through clothing as a symbol of cultural pride. Finding their feet in the foothills of the Bolivian Andes, the young women join a rising number of cholitas, adopting the traditional pollera as a reclamation of indigenous heritage and the female strength carried through Aymara or Quechua traditions. Travelling to Cochabamba, directors Rebecca Basaure and Mariano Carranza center the collective and their role in the community for short documentary ImillaSkate - The Cholita Skaters of Bolivia. Challenging gender stereotypes through their contradictions, while making space for indigenous pride, the young women carve out a story of rebellion, reclamation, and radical joy against a landscape where racial prejudice and gender violence remain an ever-present concern. ...read more at nowness.com _______________________________________ Subscribe to NOWNESS here: http://bit.ly/youtube-nowness Like NOWNESS on Facebook: http://bit.ly/facebook-nowness Follow NOWNESS on Twitter: http://bit.ly/twitter-nowness Daily exclusives for the culturally curious: http://bit.ly/nowness-com Behind the scenes on Instagram: http://bit.ly/instagram-nowness Staff Picks on Vimeo: http://bit.ly/vimeo-nowness