The Documentary Podcast - Bolivia’s Cholitas – From Outcasts to Icons

Download Bolivia’s Cholitas – From Outcasts to Icons

With their pleated skirts and bowler hats the “cholita” women are a common sight in Bolivia’s administrative capital La Paz. They’re often from indigenous Aymara and Quechua cultures. Until recently cholita was used as a derogatory term to talk about their distinctive traditional clothing and they were discriminated against.

Jane Chambers travels to Bolivia to find out how these women are reclaiming their cultural heritage and going from outcasts to icons and what it says about society. Join her to meet the cholita wrestlers, fashion designers and mountaineers changing public opinion.

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.

Published on Tuesday, 7th October 2025.

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