*Social communicator, member of Mujeres Creando ---- For 19 years, Our Lady of Desires has served as the headquarters of the anarchist feminist movement Mujeres Creando. Having a physical space for a social movement is fundamental, especially if it allows for self-management. This corner where dreams are conceived is located in the Sopocachi neighborhood of La Paz, Bolivia. ---- Six musical sirens at the door and a sign shaped like an eye with long eyelashes welcome you to the only anarchist feminist space in the country. The red colonial-style house, painted with beautiful murals on the facade, is Bircholet 1 of Mujeres Creando (Women Creating). Upon opening the door, it feels like entering a magical place, not only because of the chimes announcing a visitor, but also because of the colors, the decor, the warm atmosphere, the smile a comrade gives you, and the aroma of freshly cooked food wafting from our kitchen. Inside, the images of two VirginsOur Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Protection Against Abortionsare striking. These murals reflect two struggles that stand as fundamental pillars of the movement: the fight against sexist violence and femicide as its ultimate expression, and the decriminalization of abortion. Every detail of the house speaks volumes; nothing is there by chance. Not even the graffiti. "Thinking is highly feminine," "No woman is born to be a whore," and "We want all of paradise" are not decorative ornaments to adorn walls; they are phrases laden with political content and social critique, and part of the profound reflection on daily reality, patriarchal power structures, and the oppressive relationships that women experience in Bolivia and around the world. Graffiti is a language that Mujeres Creando adopted since its founding 35 years ago, and today it is its distinctive mark (there is graffiti from the movement in every corner of the country and in several other countries), as it always bears a signature and still functions as a form of dialogue with society. Our graffiti challenges, questions, stirs, and moves, generating discussion about current events, sometimes, but mainly about issues that are not priorities on the agendas of those in power or the media, even though they are urgent for our struggles and others.
The Virgin of Wishes is the fruit of years of work and struggle by the women who founded the movementlike María Galindo; by women who joined shortly after its foundinglike Julieta Ojeda, Idoia Romano, and Helen Álvarezand who continue the struggle; and by others who are no longer with us. It is a place where many "black sheep" ² find each other. In this house, many of us deepened our connection to feminism and found meaning in what, probably as very young women or girls, we couldn't name or situate as a political impulse to transform our surroundings, perhaps because we were influenced by the intuitive feminism that María Galindo speaks of and conceptualizes in her book Bastard Feminism , the kind that arises from direct, individual experience and the desire to rebel against what is imposed.
Front of the Bircholet of Mujeres Creando, the "Virgin of Desires". You can see the murals that some artists from the continent created during their time in Bolivia.
Trust the sound of your own voice
Radio Deseo was also born there, a concrete dream come true, a social media outlet that not only amplifies the struggle and voice of Mujeres Creando, but is a polyphony of voices that challenge not necessarily from a feminist perspective or solely from the perspective of women, but from the everyday struggles against all kinds of oppression. To access this privilege, achieved through much effort, the radio station established certain parameters: being a protagonist in a struggle and speaking in the first person, and respecting the movement's basic principles: no racism, no discrimination, no classism; no homophobia, no misogyny, no antifeminism; no fascism, respect for sex work and abortion, and also not belonging to religious sects, political parties, or NGOs, which always try to steal your voice.
Domestic workers' unions were given their own space, and training began at the "La Voz de mi Deseo" (The Voice of My Desire) Radio School. Helen Álvarez took on the challenge of directing it and publicly inviting allied organizations, as well as those that, while not yet allied, had a history of struggle and resistance. The goal was always to democratize access to this amplifier of voices that Radio Deseo represents to this day. On 103.3 FM, domestic workers (with a flagship program) spoke, denounced, warned, invited, vented their frustrations, educated, and made themselves heard. Their program ran for nine years, until they left paid domestic work. Also featured were blind people and people with other disabilities, teachers in the public education system, animal rights activists, environmentalists, architects who envisioned a different kind of city, gay men, lesbians, atheists, theater artists; people opposed to nuclear energy, the Dakar Rally, and many others. Whether through their organizations or individually, they received training and a free space to produce their programs with high quality and raise their own voices, without anyone imposing what they should say.
Radio Deseo is a place of diverse voices, open to everyone, and it's also a space where music takes center stage. Sergio Calero, a social communicator and one of the country's most important documentary filmmakers, shares the management with María. He directs and coordinates a series of specialized programs, in different musical genres, of undeniable quality; meanwhile, María has taken on the more political aspects of the radio's content.
Radio Deseo burst onto the Bolivian scene 18 years ago and remains the country's only feminist radio station. In recent years, our station has gained significant prominence. While María Galindo, a member of Mujeres Creando, has been on the air for as long as the station itself, her program, hosted by Galindo, has been around for about six years. This format, which she calls "radio documentary," takes the broadcast from the studio to the streets. Its success has been remarkable; it boasts incredibly high audience ratings and a powerful social impact, thanks to the concrete results María achieves by supporting individuals who report abuses and human rights violations committed by state or private institutions, whether through action or inaction. The arrival of María's program, and consequently Radio Deseo, became much more widespread thanks to social media, which amplifies her work immeasurably. This is because, in each radio documentary, María seeks justice for those who cannot find it simply because they are ordinary people in this society, not belonging to the privileged classes. Therefore, the legitimacy of María's work and of Mujeres Creando, as a collective, is undeniable. Hence, the political importance of radio for Mujeres Creando is enormous.
Self-management has been fundamental to achieving freedom and autonomy, and from there, to challenging power in all its forms.
Woman, I don't like it when you're silent.
As an anarchist feminist movement with nearly 35 years of struggle and political relevance in Bolivia, Mujeres Creando has become a symbol of rebellion for feminist struggles in the Global South. But it hasn't been an easy task; rather, it's been a daily construction, like that of ants: hard, step by step, with joys and sorrows, with achievements and frustrations, but establishing its own way of thinking and feminism, built within a very particular society, rife with contradictions and highly politicized: Bolivian society. One of its main instruments of struggle has been creativity, expressed in graffiti, street actions, and artistic interventions seeking to generate structural changes, not only questioning the patriarchal, classist, misogynistic, capitalist, and colonial model in which we live, but also formulating a series of concrete proposals that are born and become reality in the context of "the Virgin." Self-management has been fundamental to achieving freedom and autonomy, and from that position, to challenging power in all its forms, all governments, regardless of their ideological leanings. From right-wing positions to the self-proclaimed left, they have challenged us, and they haven't been able to silence us because we show them a range of possibilities for transformation that are realized every day in our home. The radio is a driving force, but also one piece of a network of collective initiatives that keep the movement strong.
A woman who organizes herself won't tolerate any more beatings.
Women in Search of Justice (MBJ), the justice-producing machine that the multidisciplinary team has become, provides free services each year to nearly three thousand women and their children and adolescents who are victims of gender-based violenceprimarily failure to provide child supportand plays a fundamental role. Their work responds to an urgent need in Bolivian society: the fight against impunity and the malfunctioning of the judicial system, as well as the lack of a feminist perspective. They have achieved favorable resolutions for victims in cases that were practically impossible to solve, thanks to their "legal loopholes," as Paola Gutiérrez, the head of MBJ, describes them. And they have built their reputation for the firmness, integrity, empathy, and insight with which they accompany victims on their journey toward justice. That's why the Feminist Ethics School, run by Raiza Zeballos, also operates there, where, in partnership with the public university, they train young professionals in the legal, social, and psychological fields, with a feminist approach to victim support.
Banks exploit the precariousness and instability of employment in Bolivia, where 85% of the population works in the informal sector, and it is primarily women who fall into debt. For this reason, lawyer Mayra Rojas provides legal advice in La Virgen to those who are threatened with losing everything when they cannot pay their debts or become over-indebted. When workers' labor rights are not recognized, Dominga Mamani, a labor lawyer and former domestic worker, resolves conflicts, especially for the most disadvantaged, in her office against labor exploitation.
We also have accommodation, which is part of our self-management, where people from within or outside the country can stay. But there's also a free, solidarity room that's often occupied by a woman who had to leave home because of violence, or by Indigenous women who come to La Paz to earn a living, or any woman who needs it. This space, also a place of care, is managed by Julieta Ojeda, who also oversees the house's cultural program. Musicians, stand-up comedians, rappers, filmmakers, and authors come through, and a series of activities related to or aligned with feminism are organized there. Other topics are also discussed and analyzed in debates, talks, and conferences from the feminist perspective of Mujeres Creando.
In our "Pirate Zone," Carmen Gardeazabal photocopies the international books we have for sale for those who lack the resources to purchase the originals. We do this because the movement firmly believes in the democratization of knowledge. The house isn't very big, but every corner has been put to excellent use. This has allowed us to have a classroom that also functions as a feminist video library, with a selection of excellent films, and where feminist self-defense workshops are held for women of all ages, or which is simply rented out to other groups or educational institutions.
Inside the Virgin of Wishes. Some diners can be seen enjoying a delicious cupuaçu juice, and in the background, the Virgins of Sorrows and Protection Against Abortions, collectively authored by María Galindo, Esther Argollo, and Danitza Luna.
The Virgen de los Deseos shelter has the only public restroom in the neighborhood. Despite being right in the city center, this basic service is lacking in nearby areas. Those who visit us seeking assistance with any of the services offered at the shelter come from a more working-class background, making this restroom a necessity, as is the open shower available to any woman who needs it. In a feminist space, childcare is essential. Rosario Adrián, an educator, ran a permanent space for ten years for mothers who chose to pursue their life projects; now, this service is offered in places where women need temporary childcare, such as fairs, workshops, courses, and gatherings.
These initiatives are our daily struggles, the ones that keep our house alive and allow us to build solidarity and complicity. While I've mentioned some of our members because of their specific responsibilities, there are many more of us. The first thing we challenged upon arriving at "La Virgen" was the hierarchy of work and professions; in our house, manual, creative, and intellectual labor have equal value, and we all do everything, from waiting tables in the restaurant, washing dishes, or cleaning the bathroom, to conceptualizing our thoughts and translating them into the intellectual output of Mujeres Creando. The sale of our own books represents a significant part of the movement's financial support.
The Virgin of Wishes, the Bircholet of Mujeres Creando, is a place of encounters and confluences, not only for the members of the movement, but for other struggles.
The Virgin of Desires, the Bircholet of Mujeres Creando, is a place of encounters and convergence, not only for members of the movement, but also for other struggles. Other movements and groups have found here a safe space to organize, meet, and make decisions, without prejudice or persecution.
Mural by Mujeres Creando. La Paz, 2017. Photo: Montserrat Boix. CC BY-SA 4.0
The Virgin of Wishes is a dream that we hope other groups around the world can achieve because we know that there are many of us who seek a real transformation of society towards a better future, and owning a home is a driving force.
For me, "La Virgen" is a refuge. The place where I found another family, the one I chose. Where I can reflect and build collectively. Where I don't feel alone and lost, but rather I find myself with others, with different women, because Mujeres Creando is just that: a heterogeneous group, from the city and the countryside, young and old, with and without professions, married, divorced, single, or widowed, from different economic backgrounds and social origins, etc. Because in our diversity, we each contribute to each other's struggles and we become stronger.
The Virgin of Wishes is a dream we hope other groups around the world can achieve because we know there are many of us who seek a real transformation of society toward a better future, and owning a home is a driving force. We wish for this so that these struggles have a place that acts as a megaphone, amplifying their own dreams and voices.
A compound word, combining "bir," "birlocha" (an indigenous woman, called a chola, who removes her pollera and dresses as a "señorita"), and "cholet," the name given to the luxurious Aymara architectural style, which results from a combination of "chola" and chalet .
This is how they refer, generally within the family or close circle, to a rebellious person or someone who doesn't follow established norms.
Official data from the National Institute of Statistics. ?
https://redeslibertarias.com/2026/01/20/la-virgen-de-los-deseos-una-casa-donde-nacen-y-se-hacen-las-luchas-concretas/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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