Every year, around 100 indigenous Bolivian women take to the streets of the Andean city of El Alto for a bike race. Only ‘cholitas’ (Andean women of indigenous origin) are allowed to take part, with city officials saying that the aim of the race is to invigorate their culture and provide them with opportunities in the sport.
The women compete for prizes including trophies, a mobile phone and canned goods. The women, wearing their traditional long, colourful, patterned skirts known as a “polleras,” and hair woven into braids, race 15 kilometres through El Alto’s city centre.
One competitor, Laura Paco says of the race: “For the cholitas, for women who wear polleras, there should always be these races. Because sometimes, cholitas are not appreciated. Now cholitas feel happy for (participating) in this race.”
The city of El Alto sits at 4,150 metres above sea level, which is twice as high as Alpe d’Huez, and with a population of nearly a million people, it’s the highest major city in the world.
