crown

Subscribe Now

FOLLOW US

Sign in

Photos: In Bolivia, a new generation of wrestlers in bowler hats

A new generation of athletes is coming to one of the world's more colorful sporting spectacles: the fighting cholitas of Bolivia, who take to a wrestling ring in the traditional billowing skirts, bowler hats and leather shoes of Aymara women. Among the most famous is Reyna Torrez, the ring name of Leydi Huanca, who has entertained spectators for a dozen years. Now 29 and a veteran, Torrez is among those training a new cohort of wrestlers, aged 16 to 19, in hopes of keeping the sport alive.

Updated on: Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM IST

Share via

Copy link

1/9

Seen from behind the backstage curtain, young cholita wrestler Dona Chevas, (L), fights with fellow trainee Lucero in El Alto, Bolivia. The sport — known by the English-derived name catchascan — has delighted foreign tourists and photographers for years while building a sense of pride among indigenous women. (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Seen from behind the backstage curtain, young cholita wrestler Dona Chevas, (L), fights with fellow trainee Lucero in El Alto, Bolivia. The sport — known by the English-derived name catchascan — has delighted foreign tourists and photographers for years while building a sense of pride among indigenous women. (Juan Karita / AP)

2/9

Veteran cholita wrestler Leydi Huanca dances as she enters the ring area to compete in El Alto. The group of competitors has gradually dwindled over time to just seven. Among the most famous is Reyna Torrez, the ring name of Leydi Huanca, who has entertained spectators for a dozen years, her moves inspired by Mexican wrestlers such as Rey Mysterio. (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Veteran cholita wrestler Leydi Huanca dances as she enters the ring area to compete in El Alto. The group of competitors has gradually dwindled over time to just seven. Among the most famous is Reyna Torrez, the ring name of Leydi Huanca, who has entertained spectators for a dozen years, her moves inspired by Mexican wrestlers such as Rey Mysterio. (Juan Karita / AP)

3/9

Veteran cholita wrestler Reyna Torrez stands in the corner of the ring as she competes with teen fighter Dona Chevas. Now 29, Torrez is training a new cohort of wrestlers, ages 16 to 19, in hopes of keeping the sport alive. (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Veteran cholita wrestler Reyna Torrez stands in the corner of the ring as she competes with teen fighter Dona Chevas. Now 29, Torrez is training a new cohort of wrestlers, ages 16 to 19, in hopes of keeping the sport alive. (Juan Karita / AP)

4/9

Tourists film cholita wrestlers in the ring in El Alto. “I love those leaps of Reyna, and it’s a dream that she’s teaching us,” said 17-year-old Nieves Laura Tarqui, who wrestles as Nelly Pankarita, a last name that means “Little Flower” in Aymara. (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Tourists film cholita wrestlers in the ring in El Alto. “I love those leaps of Reyna, and it’s a dream that she’s teaching us,” said 17-year-old Nieves Laura Tarqui, who wrestles as Nelly Pankarita, a last name that means “Little Flower” in Aymara. (Juan Karita / AP)

5/9

Cholita wrestler Natalia Pepita, 19, watches through a hole in the curtain backstage. Pankarita and the other trainees are still a year away from their full professional debuts. “It’s hard to wrestle,” said Noelia Gonzalez — aka Natalia Pepita. “You need a lot of bravery, strength and training to make a good fight. We fall and we hurt, but that doesn’t matter because the public has fun.” (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Cholita wrestler Natalia Pepita, 19, watches through a hole in the curtain backstage. Pankarita and the other trainees are still a year away from their full professional debuts. “It’s hard to wrestle,” said Noelia Gonzalez — aka Natalia Pepita. “You need a lot of bravery, strength and training to make a good fight. We fall and we hurt, but that doesn’t matter because the public has fun.” (Juan Karita / AP)

6/9

Young cholita wrestler Wara puts her makeup on before competing in the ring. As a match is about to start, the contenders peer into a mirror, apply makeup and perfume and then enter the ring dancing to folkloric music. This time it’s Pepita taking on her teacher. And of course it doesn’t start well. (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Young cholita wrestler Wara puts her makeup on before competing in the ring. As a match is about to start, the contenders peer into a mirror, apply makeup and perfume and then enter the ring dancing to folkloric music. This time it’s Pepita taking on her teacher. And of course it doesn’t start well. (Juan Karita / AP)

7/9

Veteran cholita Jennifer dos Caras, 45, holds a cement block over teen wrestler Lucero la Bonita. “The girls who want to do this sport have to have guts, will, because this is a sport that demands a lot of discipline,” Torrez said. About 50 young women are training at three schools to take up the sport, some at an institution known as Independent Wrestlers of Enormous Risk. (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Veteran cholita Jennifer dos Caras, 45, holds a cement block over teen wrestler Lucero la Bonita. “The girls who want to do this sport have to have guts, will, because this is a sport that demands a lot of discipline,” Torrez said. About 50 young women are training at three schools to take up the sport, some at an institution known as Independent Wrestlers of Enormous Risk. (Juan Karita / AP)

8/9

Jennifer Dos Caras competes in the ring with Randy Four in El Alto. “Time is passing, and you have to make way for a new generation,” said Benjamin Simonini, director of the school in the sprawling highlands city of El Alto, which has seen a boom in recent years and where the fighting cholitas have emerged as a tourist attraction. (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Jennifer Dos Caras competes in the ring with Randy Four in El Alto. “Time is passing, and you have to make way for a new generation,” said Benjamin Simonini, director of the school in the sprawling highlands city of El Alto, which has seen a boom in recent years and where the fighting cholitas have emerged as a tourist attraction. (Juan Karita / AP)

9/9

Cholita wrestler Natalia Pepita is pinned down by fellow fighter in training, Wara in the ring. Tatiana Monasterios of the city’s tourist department said the shows “also assert the role of the Ayamara woman, showing her as enterprising, that she, too, can take part in a risky sport.” (Juan Karita / AP)

Updated on Feb 28, 2019 3:28 PM

Cholita wrestler Natalia Pepita is pinned down by fellow fighter in training, Wara in the ring. Tatiana Monasterios of the city’s tourist department said the shows “also assert the role of the Ayamara woman, showing her as enterprising, that she, too, can take part in a risky sport.” (Juan Karita / AP)

Related Photos

Home/Photos/Lifestyle/Photos: In Bolivia, A New Generation Of Wrestlers In Bowler Hats

© 2026 HindustanTimes