I caught Mamachas of the Ring / Mamachas del Ring which screened last Friday, November 13 as part of the line up of one of my favorites, the (2009) Margaret Mead Film Festival. It tells the story of several Aymara female wrestlers in Bolivia, focusing on the story of the Campeona, Carmen Rosa. After some initial fame as part of a more organized league of wrestlers under the direction of coach Don Juan Mamani, the group had a falling out and three of them set out to publicize and draw crowds on their own. It was easy for me to be drawn into the story, not only because of the novelty of Aymara women wrestlers, but Carmen Rosa’s spunk, initiative and her passion for the sport – not to mention the tensions.
The documentary touched upon issues of gender and ethnicity but, as usual, I wanted to know more. While you got a sense for how some of the mainstream community felt about their work as wrestlers, I wanted the documentary to delve into whether the large following the women had and the smaller one they were working on attracting were Aymara and how the Aymara community feels abut their life as wrestlers. I also wanted to hear more about about the wrestlers’ children and husbands. Don’t get me wrong; it was great to see an intimate personal portrait — and maybe that’s how I should view more of these films. But, I always hope for as much of a contextual portrait as possible because it will lend itself to classroom use and discussion on social issues. Maybe that was all the context that was possible; after all, I’m heading toward an oral history project of my own and I foresee the difficulty in delving into people’s lives.
Over all it was a fun movie that shed light on the feelings and lives of these pioneering women. Part of the fun, I should note, was the claymation which gave color to the telling of the stories.
Until next time, which may be January, after I’ve taken my comps., muy … bue … nas … noches, hasta mañana — as the little doggie in the Spanish language commercials of my youth used to say! Take care, folks.
