Saturday, October 9, 2010

Chola Style

Chola is the name given to women of mostly indigenous descent that have moved from the country to the city. There are Cholas in every city in Bolivia. There are Cholas in Peru and Ecuador as well.  Cholas are usually found selling snack foods, fresh squeezed orange juice and Chola Sandwiches. I've been fascinated by Chola culture since I arrived to Bolivia mainly because of the Chola outfit.  The three basics to the Chola outfit are the skirt, shawl and hat. In Cochabama the Cholas tend to wear to wide brimmed sun hats. In La Paz the Bowler hat reins supreme. A large majority of the Cholas have gold teeth.  Cholas also tend to be 5ft tall. I'm not sure as to how this early Spanish colonial dress came to dominate the fashion scene of indigenous Bolivian women but I likes it.  






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