Proyect@ MUCOV: Documenting HERSTORY: UNDIES, WIND and SISTERHOOD (Version en Español Abajo)

WELCOME TO BOLIVIA MUCOV!

During the last four months of traveling MUCOV had not had this sort of welcoming. What we are about to tell you is based on real events:

It was 7:00 pm and we had just returned from a very long walk through the Island of the Sun; our stomachs were empty and we were looking for a moderately cheap and comfortable hostel, one with a common kitchen we could utilize. After a search of about 6 overly pricey hostels in the center of Copacabana (the first city we entered in Bolivia) we walked through the central plaza passing through the ladies who encircle the cathedral selling candles. We arrived at the doorstep of ¨Hostel Florencia¨ as a last resort and hope of finding a good place to rest our bodies and minds in. The moment we walked into the hostel, we were greeted by Mery’s (the owner) wide smile, her dog Cachito and two other womyn: Vanessa and Maria.

We immediately went to unload our bags on the third floor (that had a beautiful view to the Titicaca Lake and the nearby cathedral) and went back down to the second floor kitchen to cook. From the kitchen we could hear the laughter of a number of womyn and the steady beat of salsa and cumbia playing in the background. Behind giggles and drumbeats we could hear the womyn asking Omar, a Cuban friend of theirs about dance steps and rhythms they could learn. While we were hungrily waiting for our pasta to boil, Vanesa, who lives at the hostel and assists Mery in its daily functions, came in and asked:

¨Would you two like to practice with us tonight? We are rehearsing the Colombian folkloric dance ¨La Pollera Colorada¨ (the Red traditional Skirt) and we are going to perform it tomorrow.¨

¨Sure…it would be fun to see them rehearse and maybe learn a few moves, ¨ we thought. Around 9:00 pm, we found ourselves in Mery’s living room with Daysi, Maria, Nata, Vanesa and Omar and we started rehearsing with them. Two hours later, after much laughter, silliness and uncoordinated dance steps, we decided that it was time call it a night. ¨I can’t do it anymore, ¨ said Mery with a long sigh.

The womyn had not finished learning all the necessary steps, nor had they figured out how to fill the 45 non-choreographed seconds remaining until the end of the song; but everyone felt proud of their graceful hips and dance moves, with the confidence that on the following day they would dance in public in the most coordinated and beautiful way imagined.

The surprise came almost at midnight, when Mery (who besides being the hostel owner also had a contagious joy to her) asked Mayra: ¨And why don’t you dance with us tomorrow? You have already rehearsed with us and we need one more dancer! Here, we even have an extra shirt and skirt for you! ¨

¨The thing is that we are leaving to La PAZ tomorrow and I don’t think I will have the time to do it, ¨ said Mayra with a surprised tone to her voice.

¨Stay another day, we will have so much fun! Please girls! ¨ And with these words, we accepted her offer.

Sunday of wind and underwear

The presentation was planned for 3 o’clock, yet at 2:39 they were still not ready. Some had only their skirts on and others were trying to place the decorative rose in their head while shouting: ¨I need a hair pin! ¨ The rest were not even there yet.

¨It doesn’t matter, ¨ they said, ¨The presentation has to wait for us because we are the main act! ¨

Mayra could not believe that there were only 30 minutes left for the show to start, that they were not ready and that the best/worst part was that they haven’t even agreed on what the last steps should be!

At 3:45 PM.

In the end, everyone had their flowers in their hair and their smiles that helped neutralize any nervousness or stage fright they could feel, and together we all left to the Copacabana Marine Base where the performance was to take place. Upon arrival, we were told that the other dance performances had already taken place and that it was too late for them to dance! ¨What! But we are the final performance, the best number; we will be ready in five minutes, prepare the music and please tell us where the stage is! ¨ They all exclaimed with pride and determination that the show must go on.

At 3:55 PM

As the Colombian music starts, the womyn come out with their long red skirts, flowers in their hair and their smiles the size of Lake Titicaca…The first minute everything is in order: the womyn, their hands holding the edges of their skirts, their hips swaying to the rhythm of the drums, and they are all moving in an almost perfect coordination. The next minute the womyn are still wearing their bright smiles, they continue their synchronized movements, their skirts coming up gracefully as they turn, their hands moving in a semi-circular motion and their shoulders rotating from side to side when suddenly a strong gust of traitorous wind picks up…

The third minute is a blur, as the unexpected gust shamelessly raised the womyn´s skirts (which refused to obey the hands and fingers that commanded them to stay in place). Between the laughter and surprise that ensued, it seemed that some of the womyn blushed furiously, others laughed, others tried to cover themselves to prevent the audience from seeing more than what they were meant to see! And all of this while still continuing to dance with mortified looks of: I-CANT-BELIEVE-THIS-IS-HAPENNING! The audience kept their eyes on the dancers and witnessed in an almost hypnotic way how the womyn kept fighting against the wind and any sense of shame—nothing was going to stop them! In real time, the incident only occurred for a couple of minutes, but it seemed like an eternity for the dancers, who were resigned to the reality of showing their legs and underclothes in public without prior warning.

AT 3:59 PM

Walking as fast as they could without actually running, the girls went back into the dressing room mumbling to each other: ¨I can´t believe we showed everything! ¨ And others: ¨What a shame! ¨ and Mayra: ¨I never imagined that I would stay in Copacabana to show my underwear to everyone in public! ¨

But it was all worth it. This experience bonded us and we enjoyed spending four more fabulous days with these womyn while waiting for the transportation strike that started the day before to end.

The way we have all created a family of womyn in the next few days was an incredible experience: we ate together, danced in the living room and in the kitchen, yelled our love to each other and cried when the time for saying goodbye drew near. With a cake and a delicious-lick-your-fingers lunch and with our hearts nearly spilling over with gratitude, we finally said goodbye to the beautiful city of Copacabana and to the womyn that danced ¨La Pollera Colorada.¨

And here is a summary of the Womyn MUCOV met:

Mery: What a beautiful womyn! An altruistic person and womyn´s rights advocate who also promotes the preservation of our environment. With her loud laugh and evident friendliness, Mery demands and deserves the respect of everyone around her. In addition, as one of her hobbies (she does everything for fun) she organizes a group of youngsters to promote community building, and is a godmother to some of the young womyn of Copacabana who adore her.

Vanesa: A happy young womyn with a capacity to love and assist both friends and strangers alike. Vanesa, who dreams of traveling to and exploring other countries, is waiting to complete her goals in Copacabana to be able to make her dreams of traveling and of creative art projects come true. A student, artist, dancer and a goddaughter of Mery, Vanesa shared with us her dreams, sorrows and happiness. She also taught us that sisterhood can be as instant as a Ramen Noodle soup.

Maria: Is a womyn who dances with solitude and who awakens in one the desire to join her on one of her spontaneous dancing debuts along the hostel´s long corridors. No one knows exactly how she arrived in Copacabana from the de facto capital city of La Paz, given that Maria lived on the streets for many years. We know that Maria survived in the midst of urban neighborhoods and all kinds of street corners, seeking ways to continue with her life after her husband kicked her out of her house and ran away with her four children. Maria told us that she has suffered from severe violations of all kinds before and during her life in the streets. It was in Copacabana where she found a new home in Mery’s hostel. ¨This womyn has been reborn, she is another person and now we do not speak of the past and focus only of the present, ¨ says Mery as she looks at Maria with sincere affection. Currently, Maria works at the hostel as she laughs out loud, dances, jokes around and sings, while she continues to heal from the violations that her body and mind suffered for so long.