SPORTS
FILM/AQ ONLINE
TRAVEL
MUSIC/ADVENTURE
PUBLICATIONS/CALENDAR
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looking at our hemisphere from all directions
Ready to roll: Costa Rica’s Panties Dinamita taking to the streets of San José.
Costa Rican Roller Derby
PHOTO COURTESY OF PANTIES DINAMITA
Roller derby, popular in the U. S. in the 1970s and 1980s, is catching fire in Costa Rica. The Roller Derby Costa Rica league, founded just one year ago, already has three teams—two in San José and one in the northern city of Heredia. And they’re likely to expand. A recent Facebook flier promoting an upcoming match between San José’s
most popular team, Panties Dinamita, against crosstown
rivals Gatas Callejeras cheekily advertises for new players who are “responsible women with attitude.”
Panties captain and San José native Josselin Leon
Chávez founded the league after watching the sport on
Internet video. Many of the players who have signed
up are married with kids, “but they can get fierce when
they put their pads on and step on the field,” says Chávez.
AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG
Americas Quarterly SPRING 2012
11
