[The Guardian] ImillaSkate: an indigenous Bolivian skateboard collective – photo essay

ImillaSkate: an indigenous Bolivian skateboard collective – photo essay

Created by two friends in 2018, the female collective ImillaSkate wear the traditional Bolivia polleras dress associated with the indigenous women of the highland regions as a symbol of resistance

The Bolivian “polleras”, bulky skirts commonly associated with the indigenous women from the highlands, were for decades a symbol of uniqueness but also an object of discrimination. Now, a new generation of women skateboarders in Cochabamba, the country’s third largest city, wear them as a piece of resistance. The voluminous attire has its origins in the Spanish conquest, in the 16th century. It was imposed on the native population, but through the subsequent centuries the garment became part of the local identity.

Since it symbolises authenticity and stigmatisation, dusting off the polleras that once belonged to aunts and grandmothers seemed the obvious choice for Dani Santiváñez, 26, a young Bolivian skater who wanted to reclaim her roots. In 2018, she and two friends formed the female collective ImillaSkate “as a cry for inclusion”. Imilla means “young girl”’ in Aymara and Quechua, the two most widely spoken languages in Bolivia, a country where more than half of the population has indigenous roots.

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