The Monstrous Portrayal of the Maternal Bolivian Chola in Contemporary Comics

This chapter reads three contemporary Bolivian comics with the goal of analyzing their representations of indigenous Aymara or Quechua (chola) mothers. The author of this chapter demonstrates how normative Bolivian discourses of maternity frame cholas as grotesque but, how recent changes in government policies and in economic conditions, have empowered chola women and have resulted in changes in how they are represented in social arenas such as theater. In light of such shifts, this chapter asks whether comics too have evolved beyond monstrous representations of chola maternity.