On our way south, we stop over in the capital of La Paz. We spend our few days here suffering from a variety of mysterious illnesses and discover the joy of owning a hot water bottle. And...I know it´s a silly detail, but we really loved the brightly painted collectivo buses.
Activities were regrettebly few in La Paz. However, we did happen to take a stroll on a national holiday and see a military band play in the square. Jen was particularily fond of the vocalist´s version of "Silencio." It became a kind of theme song for the rest of Bolivia.
But clearly, looking back on our time in La Paz, what stands out is the visit to nearby suburb of El Alto and seeing Lucha Libre.
This is very much like a hybrid of American and Mexican wrestling. It´s all about drama...and ,although it was all obviously fake, the floor work was really impressive, loved the costumes, and it featured "The Flying Cholitas!"
In Bolivia, a Cholita is a women who lives in the city but continues to wear indigenous clothing. They really are everywhere, usually wearing the big flowing dress, braids, and bowler hats. So, being so ubiquitous, of course they´d have cholita wrestlers too.
One of the best things about watching the cholitas wrestling was watching all the other cholitas in the crowd rooting for them. The crowd got pretty crazy and there was a constant stream of tomatoes and orange peels being tossed at the ring.
My favorite was Yolanda La Amorosa, but Super Payaso was pretty impressive too.
1 comment:
These photos are tremendous! When you said you lost your camera, I was afraid there would't be any more. More, please!
-Ryan
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