Roller Derby in Bogotá's National Park

One of the most culturally odd activities going on in Colombia has got to be roller derby. This group trains every Sunday afternoon in the National Park in Bogotá.

Roller derby's been played for about four years in Colombia, started by the popularity of an otherwise forgettable movie. Today, Bogotá has four roller derby teams, and there are about a dozen across Colombia, with names like Bone Breakers, the Fugitivas and the Rock and Roll Queens. It's a female-only sport here, altho most referrees are male. Many of the teams are associated with high schools and universities.

Roller derby's popularity here is doubly surprising as an aggressive, violent, contact sport in a country where few women traditionally play sports at all, much less violent ones.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours