Meet the ‘Climbing Cholitas’ of Bolivia. This group of Aymara indigenous women traded their spoons and spatulas in for ice picks and crampons. While these ladies once worked as base camp cooks in the Andes, today they can be found summiting the world’s most massive mountain peaks – all while wearing traditional, billowing dresses in lieu of conventional climbing gear.
As photographer Todd Antony specialises in shooting the world’s most extraordinary individuals, it wasn’t long before he found himself on a plane to help capture this unique narrative on camera. The following storytelling project highlights how these adventurous spirits are using mountaineering to break down stereotypes, challenge years of social inequality in Bolivia, and reclaim the once-derogatory word ‘Cholita.’ Todd comments:
In the very recent past, as little as 10 years ago, Bolivia’s indigenous Aymara women were socially ostracised and systematically marginalised. Known as ‘cholitas’, these women, easily identified by their wide skirts, braided hair and bowler hats, suffered racial discrimination and could be refused entry to certain restaurants, using public transport and entering certain public spaces such as the capitals central square, Plaza Murillo.
While these woman have been advocating for their rights since at least the 1960’s, their movement was further invigorated by the 2005 election of Evo Morales. Bolivia’s first Amerindian president. Since then the majority indigenous population have seen greater recognition and autonomy.
To the left we have the lovely Dora Magueño Machaca. At 53 years old, she’s summited the 19,974ft Huayana Potosi mountain (featured in the image’s background) more times than she can actually remember. To capture a shot of Dora in her natural habitat, Todd agreed to follow her lead up the mountain’s slippery slopes. Reaching a height of around 16404ft was more than enough to induce the harsh effects of altitude sickness. Todd elaborates on the experience:
Basically pounding headaches, knackered, and having to pause shooting every now and then because I was puffing from… holding my camera. Just to rub further salt into my own self-inflicted wound, I asked 53 year old Dora how many times she’d summited Huayna, to which she very casually replied ’10 or 12’. Absolute legend… To be fair, one of our guides did insinuate (quite definitively) that climbing up as high as we ended up doing would trash us and I can conclusively say that he was 100% right!
Dora’s main mountaineering partner and daughter, Ana Lía Gonzales Magueño, is also a member of the Cholita Climbers clan. The dynamic duo told Todd that this past January, they summited the highest mountain in South America together. Also known as “the Mountain of Death,” for self-explanatory reasons, traversing the 22,841ft peak of Mt Aconcagua is no easy feat. Doing so while wearing traditional shawls to carry equipment rather than backpacks is even more impressive.
It really goes to show what can be made possible with determination, practice, and a little bit of daring madness. These ‘Cholitas Escaladoras Bolivianas’ not only mastered the skills needed to overcome high-risk mountaineering environments, but also had enough gusto to step outside the societal box years of systemic marginalization tried to place them in. Alas, thrill-seekers cannot be kept in the kitchen when adventure calls.
Photographer Todd Antony’s expertise in documentary portraiture has lead him to meet remarkable characters all over the globe. Some of the other unique storytelling projects he’s captured include Sulo Karjalainen– the Bearman of Lapland, Cassandro el Exótico – the drag queen star of Mexican wrestling, and Hannah Mikkola – the Finnish Champion of Raindeer Racing. For more imagery by Todd Antony, view his portfolio here.
