This image is taken from Michel Setboun’s third book about agencies. Eighty reporters were chosen to comment on one iconic image taken during their careers. The image we’re publishing today is a picture by Fabio Cuttica.
Carmen Rosa is an Aymara, a people natives to the shores of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. Like many others, she dresses in skirts, colorful shawls and a traditional bowler hat. But Carmen Rosa is also one of the most famous cholitas luchadoras, a new kind of wrestling.
In 2009 in La Paz, I learned about the existence of a weekly performance, Los Titanes del Ring. Every Sunday, in a small suburban stadium, women in traditional dress face off in a ring before hundreds of spectators.
Carmen Rosa trains daily to prepare for the weekend. To help her practice at home, Rosa’s husband built a ring in their yard. I was working on a story about the cholitas luchadoras when I met Carmen. She invited me to watch her train. On that day, Carmen was wrestling with Julia, seen gripping the ropes. Her husband and an assistant were also on hand. I was born in Italy but I grew up in Peru and Colombia, so I have a special connection to everything South American. I feel a deep empathy for these people, something I’ve never felt anywhere else. This photograph captures the environment in which these women train and live. At first glance, the story may seem a little outlandish, but it’s more complicated than it seems. Aymara women play a fundamental role in Bolivian society. They are both highly skilled at commerce and serve as the pillars of their families. But Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America, and the possibilities for women are limited. For an Aymara, becoming a wrestler can have a significant impact on a family’s income.
