Skaters on a Mission

Imagine you’re visiting Cochabamba. It’s a bustling city in the middle of Bolivia, a country in South America. The air is warm and dry. Soaring peaks frame the skyline. Local markets sell an array of delights—fresh fruits, flowers, and mouthwatering empanadas.

Then you spot them: a daring skate crew! The skateboarders race down ramps. They high-five each other after nailing ollies, kickflips, and other tricks.

And they do it all in big colorful skirts and long braids. Sometimes they even wear fancy felt hats. Who are these awesome young women? 

Meet ImillaSkate, an all-female skate crew. Imilla means “girl” in Aymara and Quechua—the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in Bolivia. These athletes love their sport. But for them, skating is about more than just landing tricks. It’s also about honoring the history of their people.

The layered skirts these skateboarders wear are called polleras. For hundreds of years, the skirts have been worn by Indigenous women in Bolivia. More than half of the country’s population is of Indigenous descent, yet polleras aren’t a common sight anymore. In recent decades, many Indigenous Bolivians stopped wearing their traditional clothing to avoid discrimination. 

That’s because, until recently, Indigenous women in Bolivia were treated unfairly. They weren’t allowed to use some public taxis and buses. Restaurants didn’t want to serve them. Many of them had to work as servants and couldn’t get an education. Indigenous Bolivians—women in particular—spent decades fighting for equal rights.

In 2006, Bolivia elected its first Indigenous president. He helped make life better for many of the country’s Indigenous people. Some women were finally able to go to college and could go on to become lawyers, teachers, or doctors. Today these women celebrate their freedom. 

That’s one reason the young women of ImillaSkate wear polleras. They wear the skirts with pride—and their families are honored to see them sharing their traditions and promoting diversity. “Women in polleras are a symbol of strength,” says team member María Belén Fajardo Fernández. 

When the members of the skate crew aren’t practicing or competing, they teach local kids how to skateboard.

Skateboarding reminds the crew that they can do anything. “It teaches you confidence,” says Daniela Santiváñez, one of the crew’s founders. “The message is to be yourself and be proud of who you are.”