Luisa Dörr is a Brazilian photographer whose work focuses primarily on the female human landscape. Through her visual storytelling, she uses portraiture as a means of telling stories and exploring the complexity of human nature and femininity.
Dörr’s photographs have been published in TIME Magazine, National Geographic, The New York Times, PDN, GEO, Wired, among many others. Her work has been exhibited in Brazil, the United States, Spain, France, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Russia. In 2015, Luisa Dörr was selected for LensCulture Emerging Talent. In 2018, she won the POYi Documentary Project of the Year award for “FIRSTS,” created for TIME Magazine, as well as the Magenta Flash Forward Award for her story “Maysa.” In 2019, she won third prize in the Portraits – Stories category of the annual World Press Photo Contest for “Falleras.”
Based in Bahia, Brazil, Dörr is currently working on projects related to women and cultural traditions. Alongside these projects, she undertakes commissioned photography assignments around the world.
Imilla Bolivian polleras, voluminous skirts commonly associated with Indigenous women from the highlands, have for decades been a symbol of distinct identity, but also a source of discrimination. Today, a new generation of women skateboarders in Cochabamba wear them as an emblem of resistance. Although the garment was originally imposed on the Indigenous population by Spanish colonisers, over the centuries it became an integral part of local identity, acquiring an ambivalent meaning as a symbol of both authenticity and stigmatisation. Rediscovering polleras in the wardrobes of aunts and grandmothers seemed the most natural choice for Dani Santiváñez, a young Bolivian skateboarder who, driven by a desire to reconnect with her roots, founded “ImillaSkate” in 2019.
“Imilla” means “young girl” in Aymara and Quechua, the two most widely spoken Indigenous languages in Bolivia, a country where more than half of the population has Indigenous roots. The nine women who currently make up the group wear polleras specifically when skateboarding. Paired with sneakers, these skirts symbolise their choice not to relinquish their cultural heritage and, through this practice, convey a message of inclusion and acceptance of diversity.
The photographs are available for purchase at Galleria ZEMA and are printed in two sizes on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta paper:
50 × 50 cm
70 × 70 cm
Each print is part of a limited edition of 5, plus 2 artist’s proofs.
Ellinor Buitrago Méndez
She started skateboarding after finishing high school. Ellinor says that the beauty of skateboarding while wearing a pollera lies in the message it conveys, particularly to women: that you can do whatever you want and forge your own unique path while remaining true to who you are.
Polleras are a symbol of strength and struggle. They carry a legacy of resistance and, through perseverance, have earned recognition and respect.
“This extraordinary view can be seen from Cristo de la Concordia hill, a popular tourist destination. Looking at this landscape, you can understand just how beautiful my Cochabamba is. You can see the lush nature and realise that not everything has been lost to technological development and population growth. And then, most importantly of all: I am proud to be K’ochala,” says Tefy, one of the skateboarders from ImillaSkate.
Joselin Brenda Mamani Tinta (27) and Lucia Rosmeri Tinta Quispe (46) are Aymara women from La Paz.
Brenda started skateboarding six years ago because she felt it could give her a sense of direction and teach her to overcome her fears and step outside her comfort zone.
Skateboarding while wearing a pollera is a challenge in itself, as it is very difficult to skate in such a voluminous skirt, but perseverance and practice have helped her overcome these difficulties.
For Brenda, the pollera represents her roots, where she comes from, and her identity.
Miriam Estefanny Morales M. 23 (Tefy)
“There is still a great deal of discrimination against Bolivia’s Indigenous population, but I am convinced that wearing a pollera while skateboarding makes me feel deeply connected to my roots.”
“This extraordinary view can be seen from Cristo de la Concordia hill. Looking at this landscape, you can understand just how beautiful my Cochabamba is. You can see the lush nature and realise that not everything has been lost to technological development and population growth.
And then, most importantly of all: I am proud to be K’ochala.”
For Tefy, skateboarding is more than a sport: it is a way of affirming her identity and challenging discrimination against Bolivia’s Indigenous population. Wearing a pollera while skateboarding makes her feel connected to her roots.
From Cristo de la Concordia hill, Tefy looks out over her city, Cochabamba, with pride: a lush landscape that endures despite the pressures of development, symbolising her deep connection to the land and K’ochala culture.
Huara Medina Montaño (24)
Huara started skateboarding as a child, using her brother’s skateboard. After the skateboard broke, she didn’t skate again until she discovered the world of skateboarding as a form of urban art.
“When I started skating again, I felt free. I felt like I was that happy little girl again. I’ve never stopped since.”
When she dresses as a cholita, she looks in the mirror and sees the image of her grandmother, who inspires her to keep going and to become like her: a strong woman.
María Belén Fajardo Fernández (21)
Belu is a physiotherapy student and the youngest member of the group. She would like to combine her future career with her passion for skateboarding.
She started skating four years ago, fascinated by the skills required to maintain balance and by the difficulty of the tricks. She hopes to use her knowledge as a physiotherapist to help other skaters.
Deysi Tacuri Lopez (27)
She started skateboarding when she was around 20. She says skateboarding brings her inner happiness: it is not just a sport, but an activity that has changed her lifestyle and helps her face her daily struggles.
For her, wearing a pollera is an authentic and unique form of expression: “My mother has a saying: ‘I was born wearing a pollera and I will die wearing one,’ and I carry on her belief.”
“We started out as regular skaters; now, dressing as cholitas gives us an identity.”
Huara Medina Montaño (24)
Huara rediscovered skateboarding in 2019, after giving it up as a child, and has never stopped since. For her, it represents a form of freedom and a return to the happiness of childhood.
Dressing as a cholita deeply connects her to her grandmother, whom she sees as a role model of strength. Through skateboarding and Indigenous culture, Huara dreams of breaking the boundaries of expression and sharing values and knowledge to help build a new vision of society.
Huara teaches Deysi’s mother: “I’ve felt it myself: skateboarding has had a profound impact on my life. It gave me courage when I needed it most. And it’s something I would like to share with other people, so they can experience that feeling, even if only for a moment,” says Huara.
This park is known as SENAC among local skaters. It was built in the hills of Pacata Alta, in Cochabamba. ImillaSkate discovered it while looking for different places for their skate sessions.
The park is very special to the group, as the girls have enjoyed practicing there. The view is incredible, and the place is quite peaceful thanks to its distance from the city.
Although it is not particularly well built and its dimensions are not quite right, it remains a very special place for them.
ImillaSkate is a women’s skateboarding team from Cochabamba. They started this movement in 2019 with the idea of bringing together their traditional roots and urban sport. Imilla means girl or young woman in Quechua and Aymara.
“We want to encourage the women’s skateboarding scene in Bolivia so that the sport can continue to grow… Another thing we want to show is that, regardless of your appearance, age, or gender, you can be part of the skateboarding community and experience the freedom that skateboarding brings.”
Deysi Tacuri Lopez (27)
She started skateboarding when she was around 20. For her, wearing a pollera is an authentic and unique form of expression: “I wear what I like… When I wear a pollera, I feel comfortable just as I am.”
Deysi wants to make skateboarding culture more popular in Bolivia, creating more opportunities for younger generations without losing sight of their roots.
“To me, skateboarding means moving forward in my life.”
Deysi has won several medals in Chile and Bolivia, including some for first-place finishes.
“Huara Medina Montaño (24)
Huara at Ollantay Park. Thishairstyle is part of their cultural identity. It is a ritual that represents an important part of their personal care and also a moment when they can dedicate time to themselves. As they brush each other’s long hair, they release negative energy while strengthening the bond they share.
Ollantay Park was built in 2019 through an initiative by Cochabamba’s skateboarding movement and Proyecto mARTadero. ImillaSkate began offering skateboarding lessons at the park under the name OllantayWasi Escuelita de Skate.
La Cancha Market
Visitare il mercato di La Cancha è quasi un’esperienza antropologica, visto che si tratta di uno dei mercati più popolari dell’America Latina. Vi si può trovare di tutto, dai generi alimentari di base a quelli regionali, libri, abbigliamento, artigianato, antiquariato e persino l’elettronica più recente, oltre a molto materiale piratato.
The hat embodies a regional cultural identity. Thanks to its distinctive features, a pollera woman’s hat identifies the place she comes from. It is an element that highlights and completes the traditional attire.
Belu, a member of the group and the girl pictured, says: “From my personal point of view, a Cochabamba woman’s hat is an adornment that enhances the beauty of pollera women, adds a touch of elegance, and in doing so creates a cultural identity.”
Luisa Zurita is wearing her grandmother’s pollera. Luisa’s grandmother, who grew up within pollera culture, had seven children: five daughters and two sons.
Luisa started skateboarding in 2016, but her family did not approve of her passion for the sport, so she had to fight for the freedom to continue skating.
It was only after ImillaSkate appeared on a popular local television show that her grandmother gave Luisa her blessing to pursue her dream and gifted her one of her favorite polleras.
Entrance to Pairumani Park
Because of its beauty, the park is one of the girls’ favorite places to skate. It is a small downhill stretch in Quillacollo, along a road leading to Pairumani Ecotourism Park, on the outskirts of Cochabamba.
“Here we have a great variety of plants and trees. That’s why Cochabamba is known as Ciudad Jardín, or the Garden City,” says Dani.
La Cancha Market
Pollera clothing is very elegant and delicate. “It is a beautiful outfit and helps boost self-esteem,” says Huara. “Every ornament has its own meaning. Throughout their history, Bolivian women have fought for freedom and independence. For many years, they faced severe social repression.
Despite this, they never stopped working to move forward with their lives, without giving up their essence, their culture, or their traditional clothing.”