Scientists, Skateboarders, and Skirts... Oh My!
Meet a dope Bolivian skateboard collective and some amazing female scientists
Hi friends and Happy Wednesday! One of the advantages of living in DC is the never-ending list of cool activities to do, museums to see, and events to attend. Last weekend, the Smithsonian debuted the largest collection of female statutes in one place! The exhibit is compiled of 120 life-size, 3D-printed statues of women in STEM arranged in the Haupt Garden (The Haupt Garden is the big castle-looking building on the mall). I went this weekend and was pleasantly surprised to meet some of the statues aka scientists in real life!
Many of the women were there to talk about their work and explain their path to their current position. I overheard one little girl tell her dad, after having an in-depth conversation about dogs with an animal scientist, “I want to do that when I grow up.” *heart exploding sound* I chatted with a few of the scientists, but you can read about them all here. And who knows, maybe some of them will pop up in this newsletter in the near future. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming!
ImillaSkate
This week we’re hitting the road to visit Cochabamba, Bolivia to meet an all-female indigenous skateboard collective. Our story starts with Daniela Santiváñez, a woman in her mid-twenties living in Cochabamba. She learned to skateboard as a young girl from her brother but eventually put away her board because she had a hard time finding female role models in the sport. After she graduated college, she was talking to a friend and realized a few other women had similar stories. That’s when genius struck. If the boys skate in groups around town, why can’t we? Thus, ImillaSkate was born.
ImillaSkate is unique to Bolivia as the women not only skateboard together, but they wear indigenous clothing while doing so. That’s right, they are skateboarding in skirts. Tony Hawk could never (that is no shade to Tony Hawk who genuinely seems like a lovely person, I just don’t know any other professional skateboarders). The Imilla skaters wear polleras while skating. Polleras are thick, bulky skirts traditionally worn by Aymara and Quechua women, who are indigenous to Bolivia. Wearing polleras provides a way for the skaters to express themselves while giving a nod to their cultural heritage. Polleras are very special to these women as they are typically worn by the matriarchal head of the home. The skaters got their initial polleras from their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers before buying their own. Wearing the polleras is also a slight middle finger at modern society that has discriminated against indigenous Bolivians based on their style of dress and language. Their name, ImillaSkate, is also a nod to their indigenous heritage. Imilla means “young girl” in Aymara and Quechua.
The collective is now up to nine women and girls who travel to competitions and skate around town. If you want to learn more about the ImillaSkate collective, I recommend reading the National Geographic and Guardian articles below. They are beautifully done with amazing photos.
That’s all for this week! Catch you next Wednesday!
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Citations
“These Bolivian skateboarders use indigenous attire to battle discrimination” National Geographic
“ImillaSkate: an indigenous Bolivian skateboard collective – photo essay” The Guardian