Bodyslammed in Bolivia – the female wrestlers of El Alto

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Our friends over at Intelligent Travel pointed us to this awesome video slideshow feature on female wrestling in Bolivia, put together by the team at National Geographic. Lucha libre, for those who are not familiar, is a style of pro-wrestling popular in Latin America. Its popularity extends all the way to South America, where in Bolivia, a feisty group of women have adopted the sport as their own to show their toughness, demonstrate their passion for lucha libre and just simply to let off a little steam.

Called cholitas luchadoras, these wrestling women are typically Aymara, one of the main ethnic groups of Bolivia. Taking stage names like the “Amorous Yolanda” and the “Evil Claudina,” the women take to the stage in the town of El Alto each Saturday night, dressed in their full traditional regalia of petticoats, bowler hats and braided hair. These girls don’t play nice either – attendees can expect to see all the bone-crunching body slams, flying leaps and folding chair weapons they have come to expect from their male counterparts.

It was only 7 years ago that Bolivian entrepreneur and diehard lucha libre fan Juan Mamani had the idea to introduce women into his weekly wrestling events. Attendance was dwindling and Mamani wanted to find a way to bring a new audience to the shows. Several years on and the women have become one of the event’s most popular draws. More interesting perhaps, is that many men come not to gawk at the “pretty ladies” but seem to genuinely admire them for their skill and passion for the sport.

I can’t say that I’ve ever been much of a fan of wrestling, but these women might have won me over. Anybody up for some lucha libre on their next South America trip?

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Spain travel show to hit PBS in September

by Abha Malpani on

Gwyneth Paltrow, celebrity chef Mario Batali, food book author and New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman, and Spanish actress Claudia Bassols (who *gasp*doesn’t have a Wikipedia page!) will star in a show called “Spain…On The Road Again”, documenting their travels across Spain.

I like all these celebrities but would watch it just for Paltrow, who by the way sounds like she speaks fluent Spanish. The show is food-centric so they really couldn’t have chosen a better country to start than Spain.

I’m a bit disappointed with the name of the show though: 1) Extremely uncreative (“On The Road” are probably the 3 most commonly used words in travel, and, being a food/travel show, you’d think there would be some reference to that in the title, 2) Why the “again”?

Anyway, what’s in a name, eh? It’s a 13 part series that was shot in 2 months across the country. You can watch a sneak preview of the show here.

Sometimes I wish I was an actor just so I could have my own travel show when I felt like it. No, vlogging is not the same. Sigh.

Amazing Race 13 cast revealed: Yeah!

by Jamie Rhein on

Joy! Rapture! A bit of excitement is heading to Sunday night TV on September 28 at 8 PM on CBS. Yes, folks. The Amazing Race returns. This round is season 13.

The cast has been revealed and is now up at the Amazing Race website. Thanks to Jaunted for giving me the heads up when I received my daily Jaunted missive yesterday.

There’s a link in the Jaunted post to the L.A. Times travel blog, “Daily Travel and Deal.” Here, editor Maret Orliss, senior programming manager for Los Angeles Times Events presents her impressions of each couple after chatting with them in person.

As usual, there are the team combos that we’ve come to know and count on for good TV:

  • The blondes
  • The parent/child where someone wants to bond more with the other
  • The incredibly competent couple who gets along so well that you’re left wondering what the hell is wrong with your own life
  • The couple whose non-stop squabbling is something you recognize, or if you’re lucky, leaves you feeling like the couple in the above example.
  • The older couple who is too sweet for words and have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever winning
  • The sibling pair who think that each of them are the best thing since sliced bread
  • The pair who is sure they will win because of they are so much better qualified than any others. Duh.

I’ll miss seeing two of the couples from last season when I tune in. They are:

Kynt and Vyxsin, the Goth pair who I consistently rooted for, and Donald and Nick, the grandfather/grandson team who came in second. Don was the oldest contestant to do so well and watching the two of them was TV worth watching.

Here are the countries the teams hoped to see by being Season 13 contestants, according to Orliss’s reporting. As we watch this season, let’s see if any of them get to go to the country of their dreams.

  • Latvia
  • Argentina
  • Italy
  • Greece
  • New Zealand
  • Egypt or another African country
  • Tibet
  • Nepal
  • Mongolia
  • Fiji
  • Israel

Click here for the video clip of “Meet the Cast.” As Phil Keoghan, the host of the show says, one reason to tune in week after week is that this is a chance to see “Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

Penis enlargement devices can be confiscated at the border says U.S. officials

by Jamie Rhein on

I once knew someone who had a penis ring. I never saw it, but I was told it was there. A friend of his told me. I won’t say who, but this friend is a trustworthy sort.

The kind of penis ring this fellow had, however, was not mentioned in this article about what sort of penis implements CAN be taken away at the U.S. border. At first, when I read the title of the article posted at Star-Telegram.com, I thought it might.

The penis ring that my friend’s friend sported was a piece of jewelry–like an earring, but different. The type of penis devices that are no nos are those that promise to enlarge the penis by constricting it with rings or stretching it using vacuums or weights.

There are not enough warning labels on the packaging or directions on how to use such devices says the FDA. The results that can happen because of misuse do not sound fun. Gangrene, for example. For this reason, these items can be confiscated if someone tries to bring them into the U.S.

I’m sure the FDA would frown on the antics of the guy who pulls a car with his penis.

I wonder how big the collection of such devices will be as border officials scoop them up? Another friend of mine once had an idea to make artwork with all the nail clippers that TSA once confiscated. Artwork out of penis devices would be real conversation starters.

This article also reminds me of that old Mae West joke, “Is that a pistol in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

Or that Austin Powers scene where he is going through customs with Elizabeth Hurley. What does he have in his bag? A Swedish penis enlarger. Here’s the scene. (Thanks, Scott for sending it to me.) If you want to read the FDA guidelines for yourself, here they are.