1 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Mónica Evangelina Renteria Peñafort, 31, one of the goalkeepers of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, after a training session over the course of a 3-day intensive training week-end at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on March 9, 2019. Mónica had her helmet customized in Canada with skulls reminiscent of the traditional Day of the Dead festival in Mexico. Mónica lives in Campestre Churubusco neighborhood in Mexico City, with her family. She studied gastronomy and culinary art. She is now a coach to goalkeepers at different ice hockey clubs in Mexico City as well as assistant coach for the under 18 Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. She started playing in-line hockey at age 9 after watching her brother’s training sessions; She competed in her first roller hockey World Cup at age 12. “Today it’s great to be able to tell someone that you play hockey because people’s mentality, especially that of Mexicans, is much more open. (...) When I was younger, the response would be totally different, it would be ‘oh no, that’s a man’s sport.’ That’s the response I used to get and it’s the polar opposite,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hocke
2 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Diego de la Garma (R), 38, the head coach of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, explains a drill to his team during a training session over the course of a 3-day intensive training week-end at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on March 9, 2019. Diego is the head coach of both the men and women’s national ice hockey teams in Mexico. He is the son of the founder of the Mexico Ice Hockey Federation and started to play ice hockey at age 12. “This is our way of leaving a mark on Mexican society, to generate a deep change in this country,” he says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
3 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Daniela Castro Cárdenas (C), 19, one of the goalkeepers of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, and her teammates get changed in the locker room before a match at the Ice World Santa Fe ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 24, 2018. The team played against the Osos in the “Midget” Hockey League, they lost 5-0. Daniela is a student in transport engineering at the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico. She grew up in Toluca, outside of the capital, and now lives in Mexico City with her grandmother. She started playing in-line hockey with her brother and her cousins, Frida and Ivana Cárdenas Castro at age 4 and ice hockey at age 10. Mónica Renteria was her coach when she initially trained to be a goalkeeper for her in-line hockey team. "For example, of my father's friends, there was one that would always say 'you should sign her up to a different sport, ballet or something that is more for girls' and my father would always say 'no!' My father always brings me to all of the training sessions, tournaments, he always brings me everywhere," she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey06.jpg]()
4 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Diego de la Garma, 37, the head coach of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, and his two assistant coaches discuss strategy during a match at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on February 15, 2019. The team played against the Buffalos Metepec in the “Midget” Hockey League, the score was 3-3. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey07.jpg]()
5 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Mónica Evangelina Renteria Peñafort (L), 31, one of the goalkeepers of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, portrayed during a training session over the course of a 3-day intensive training week-end at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on March 9, 2019. Mónica lives in Campestre Churubusco neighborhood in Mexico City, with her family. She studied gastronomy and culinary art. She is now a coach to goalkeepers at different ice hockey clubs in Mexico City as well as assistant coach for the under 18 Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. She started playing in-line hockey at age 9 after watching her brother’s training sessions; She competed in her first roller hockey World Cup at age 12. “Today it’s great to be able to tell someone that you play hockey because people’s mentality, especially that of Mexicans, is much more open. (...) When I was younger, the response would be totally different, it would be ‘oh no, that’s a man’s sport.’ That’s the response I used to get and it’s the polar opposite,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey08.jpg]()
6 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
The Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, plays against the Buffalos Metepec in the “Midget” Hockey League during a match at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on February 15, 2019. The score was 3-3. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey09.jpg]()
7 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Diego de la Garma, 37, the head coach of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, talks to the substitutes during a match at the Ice World Santa Fe ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 24, 2018. The team played against the Osos in the “Midget” Hockey League, they lost 5-0. Diego is the head coach of both the men and women’s national ice hockey teams in Mexico. He is the son of the founder of the Mexico Ice Hockey Federation and started to play ice hockey at age 12. “This is our way of leaving a mark on Mexican society, to generate a deep change in this country,” he says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey10.jpg]()
8 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Macarena Cruz Ceballos, 23, one of the defenders of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, during a match at the Ice World Santa Fe ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 24, 2018. The team played against the Osos in the “Midget” Hockey League, they lost 5-0. Macarena lives with her parents in San Jerónimo Lídice, an affluent residential neighborhood in Mexico City. Her brother lives in Canada, where he plays ice hockey in the Junior League. She studies economics and finance at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, at the Mexico City campus. She started figure skating at age 5 and ice hockey at age 12. She is one of the assistant captains of the team. “Honestly, I think that the backbone of the team has been our parents. […] My dad is our number one fan, he has been to all of the World Cups with his Mexican flag at the ready,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey11.jpg]()
9 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
The Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, plays against the Buffalos Metepec in the “Midget” Hockey League during a match at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on February 15, 2019. The score was 3-3. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey12.jpg]()
10 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
A player of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, drinks water during a training session over the course of a 3-day intensive training week-end at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on March 9, 2019. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey13.jpg]()
11 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Frida Cárdenas Castro, 21, one of the forwards of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, naps in her car after helping train junior ice hockey players and before participating in the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo training session in the car park of the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on February 26, 2019. Frida has to come straight from university to the ice rink, where she will spend the next eight hours. The team have trainings every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.30 pm to midnight. Twenty five women and girls from the ages of 16 to 34 train to be drafted in the 19 – strong team that will go to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland in April 2019. Frida lives with her family in Doctores, a working class neighborhood in Mexico City. She is in her second year of marketing at the Mexico Anáhuac University, where she has a high performance athlete scholarship. She started roller in-line hockey at age 6 and transitioned to ice hockey at age 14. Her family is also athletic and supportive of her hockey-related endeavors, her younger sister Ivana is on the under 18 of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. “For me, going to university and training is really hard because in comparison with other countries, they have rinks, loads of rinks, and for us, we’re asking ourselves ‘where are we going to train’?,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey14.jpg]()
12 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Frida Cárdenas Castro, 20, one of the forwards of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo gets changed in the locker room before a training session at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 13, 2018. The team have trainings every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.30 pm to midnight. Twenty five women and girls from the ages of 16 to 34 train to be drafted in the 19 – strong team that will go to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland in April 2019. Frida lives with her family in Doctores, a working class neighborhood in Mexico City. She is in her second year of marketing at the Mexico Anáhuac University, where she has a high performance athlete scholarship. She started roller in-line hockey at age 6 and transitioned to ice hockey at age 14. Her family is also athletic and supportive of her hockey-related endeavors, her younger sister Ivana is on the under 18 of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. “For me, going to university and training is really hard because in comparison with other countries, they have rinks, loads of rinks, and for us, we’re asking ourselves ‘where are we going to train’?,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Ph
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey15.jpg]()
13 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Players of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo get changed in the locker room before a training session at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 13, 2018. The team have trainings every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.30 pm to midnight. Twenty five women and girls from the ages of 16 to 34 train to be drafted in the 19 – strong team that will go to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland in April 2019. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey16.jpg]()
14 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Mónica Evangelina Renteria Peñafort, 31, one of the goalkeepers of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo gets changed in the locker room before a training session at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 13, 2018. The team have trainings every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.30 pm to midnight. Twenty five women and girls from the ages of 16 to 34 train to be drafted in the 19 – strong team that will go to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland in April 2019. Mónica lives in Campestre Churubusco neighborhood in Mexico City, with her family. She studied gastronomy and culinary art. She is now a coach to goalkeepers at different ice hockey clubs in Mexico City as well as assistant coach for the under 18 Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. She started playing in-line hockey at age 9 after watching her brother’s training sessions; She competed in her first roller hockey World Cup at age 12. “Today it’s great to be able to tell someone that you play hockey because people’s mentality, especially that of Mexicans, is much more open. (...) When I was younger, the response would be totally different, it would be ‘oh no, that’s a man’s sport.’ That’s the response I used to get and it’s the polar opposite,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are tra
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey17.jpg]()
15 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Mónica Evangelina Renteria Peñafort, 31, one of the goalkeepers of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo gets changed in the locker room before a training session at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 13, 2018. The team have trainings every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.30 pm to midnight. Twenty five women and girls from the ages of 16 to 34 train to be drafted in the 19 – strong team that will go to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland in April 2019. Mónica lives in Campestre Churubusco neighborhood in Mexico City, with her family. She studied gastronomy and culinary art. She is now a coach to goalkeepers at different ice hockey clubs in Mexico City as well as assistant coach for the under 18 Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. She started playing in-line hockey at age 9 after watching her brother’s training sessions; She competed in her first roller hockey World Cup at age 12. “Today it’s great to be able to tell someone that you play hockey because people’s mentality, especially that of Mexicans, is much more open. (...) When I was younger, the response would be totally different, it would be ‘oh no, that’s a man’s sport.’ That’s the response I used to get and it’s the polar opposite,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are tra
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey18.jpg]()
16 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Players of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo catch up before a training session at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on October 2, 2018. The team have trainings every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.30 pm to midnight. Twenty five women and girls from the ages of 16 to 34 train to be drafted in the 19 – strong team that will go to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland in April 2019. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey19.jpg]()
17 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Diego de la Garma, 37, the head coach of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, explains a drill to his team during a training session at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on October 2, 2018. Diego is the head coach of both the men and women’s national ice hockey teams in Mexico. He is the son of the founder of the Mexico Ice Hockey Federation and started to play ice hockey at age 12. “This is our way of leaving a mark on Mexican society, to generate a deep change in this country,” he says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey20.jpg]()
18 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Players of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo get changed in the locker room before a training session at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 13, 2018. The team have trainings every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.30 pm to midnight. Twenty five women and girls from the ages of 16 to 34 train to be drafted in the 19 – strong team that will go to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland in April 2019. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey21.jpg]()
19 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Frida Cárdenas Castro (C), 21, one of the forwards of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, studies with her teammates after helping train junior ice hockey players and before participating in the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo training session at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on February 26, 2019. Frida has to come straight from university to the ice rink, where she will spend the next eight hours. The team have trainings every Tuesday and Thursday from 10.30 pm to midnight. Twenty five women and girls from the ages of 16 to 34 train to be drafted in the 19 – strong team that will go to the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland in April 2019. Frida lives with her family in Doctores, a working class neighborhood in Mexico City. She is in her second year of marketing at the Mexico Anáhuac University, where she has a high performance athlete scholarship. She started roller in-line hockey at age 6 and transitioned to ice hockey at age 14. Her family is also athletic and supportive of her hockey-related endeavors, her younger sister Ivana is on the under 18 of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. “For me, going to university and training is really hard because in comparison with other countries, they have rinks, loads of rinks, and for us, we’re asking ourselves ‘where are we going to train’?,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey22.jpg]()
20 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
A collection of old ice hockey photos of Frida Cárdenas Castro, 20, one of the forwards of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, hangs in her home in Mexico City, Mexico on December 9, 2018. Frida lives with her family in Doctores, a working class neighborhood in Mexico City. She is in her second year of marketing at the Mexico Anáhuac University, where she has a high performance athlete scholarship. She started roller in-line hockey at age 6 and transitioned to ice hockey at age 14. Her family is also athletic and supportive of her hockey-related endeavors, her younger sister Ivana is on the under 18 of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. “For me, going to university and training is really hard because in comparison with other countries, they have rinks, loads of rinks, and for us, we’re asking ourselves ‘where are we going to train’?,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey23.jpg]()
21 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Frida Cárdenas Castro, 21, one of the forwards of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, plays with her dog named Ragnar in her bedroom at her home in Mexico City, Mexico on February 27 2019. Frida lives with her family in Doctores, a working class neighborhood in Mexico City. She is in her second year of marketing at the Mexico Anáhuac University, where she has a high performance athlete scholarship. She started roller in-line hockey at age 6 and transitioned to ice hockey at age 14. Her family is also athletic and supportive of her hockey-related endeavors, her younger sister Ivana is on the under 18 of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. “For me, going to university and training is really hard because in comparison with other countries, they have rinks, loads of rinks, and for us, we’re asking ourselves ‘where are we going to train’?,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey24.jpg]()
22 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Frida Cárdenas Castro (R), 21, one of the forwards of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, talks with her mother Nancy Castro Guevara (L), 49 on their way to a match at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on February 15, 2019. The team played against the Buffalos Metepec in the “Midget” Hockey League, the score was 3-3. Frida lives with her family in Doctores, a working class neighborhood in Mexico City. She is in her second year of marketing at the Mexico Anáhuac University, where she has a high performance athlete scholarship. She started roller in-line hockey at age 6 and transitioned to ice hockey at age 14. Her family is also athletic and supportive of her hockey-related endeavors, her younger sister Ivana is on the under 18 of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. “For me, going to university and training is really hard because in comparison with other countries, they have rinks, loads of rinks, and for us, we’re asking ourselves ‘where are we going to train’?,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey25.jpg]()
23 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Mónica Evangelina Renteria Peñafort (L), 31, one of the goalkeepers of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, and her teammates get changed after a training session over the course of a 3-day intensive training week-end at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on March 9, 2019. Mónica lives in Campestre Churubusco neighborhood in Mexico City, with her family. She studied gastronomy and culinary art. She is now a coach to goalkeepers at different ice hockey clubs in Mexico City as well as assistant coach for the under 18 Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo. She started playing in-line hockey at age 9 after watching her brother’s training sessions; She competed in her first roller hockey World Cup at age 12. “Today it’s great to be able to tell someone that you play hockey because people’s mentality, especially that of Mexicans, is much more open. (...) When I was younger, the response would be totally different, it would be ‘oh no, that’s a man’s sport.’ That’s the response I used to get and it’s the polar opposite,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey26.jpg]()
24 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Bertha González Maza (L), 28, and Macarena Cruz Ceballos (R), 23, respectively forward and defender of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, get changed in the locker room before a match at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on February 15, 2019. The team played against the Buffalos Metepec in the “Midget” Hockey League, the score was 3-3. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey27.jpg]()
25 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Bertha González Maza (L), 28, one of the forwards of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, portrayed before a match at the Ice World Santa Fe ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 24, 2018. The team played against the Stars in the “Midget” Hockey League, they won 5-3. Bertha is a one of the longest playing members of the team and currently works as operation manager at the Mexico Ice Hockey Federation. Ten years ago, she moved from her hometown of San Luis Potosi, where there are no ice rinks, to Mexico City to play ice hockey. “What I like about hockey is teaching other people that you can break barriers and stereotypes. The fact that women are playing with men is breaking a barrier; the fact that Mexico is playing against countries that have been training in ice hockey for years is breaking barrier,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey28.jpg]()
26 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
The Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, plays against the Stars in the “Midget” Hockey League during a match at the Ice World Santa Fe ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 24, 2018. They won 5-3. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey29.jpg]()
27 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Claudia Gisele Téllez Balcázar (R), 34, one of the forwards and the capitain of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, portrayed during a training session over the course of a 3-day intensive training week-end at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on March 9, 2019. Claudia is from Guadalajara, Jalisco, in central Mexico and lives in the residences for athletes catered by the Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte (Mexico’s Sports Ministry) in the south of Mexico City. She started playing in-line hockey with a men’s team in Guadalajara at age 17 and qualified for the women’s national team at age 18. She started ice hockey in her hometown at age 26 and she coaches three junior teams at the San Jerónimo ice rink in Mexico City. The 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland will mark her second World Championship as captain, having been captain in Slovenia in 2018 as well. "I was a commentator of the Winter Olympics for Claro Sport [a television channel in Mexico] and I learnt a lot about women ice hockey players. I discovered that there was a player from Finland, she was either captain or assistant, she was 44 years old, and I thought 'I can still do it' but the issue is how you prepare, how you look after yourself, when you rest," she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-finance
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey30.jpg]()
28 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
The Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, plays against the Stars in the “Midget” Hockey League during a match at the Ice World Santa Fe ice rink in Mexico City, Mexico on November 24, 2018. They won 5-3. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey31.jpg]()
29 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
From left to right: Diego de la Garma, Brian Wilson and Andrés de la Garma, respectively head coach and assistant coaches analyze the play with their team after a match at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on February 15, 2019. The team played against the Buffalos Metepec in the “Midget” Hockey League, the score was 3-3. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey32.jpg]()
30 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Macarena Cruz Ceballos (R), 23, one of the defender of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, sits with her teammates in the locker room after a match at the Winter Sports Center Metepec in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on February 15, 2019. The team played against the Buffalos Metepec in the “Midget” Hockey League, the score was 3-3. Macarena lives with her parents in San Jerónimo Lídice, an affluent residential neighborhood in Mexico City. Her brother lives in Canada, where he plays ice hockey in the Junior League. She studies economics and finance at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, at the Mexico City campus. She started figure skating at age 5 and ice hockey at age 12. She is one of the assistant captains of the team. “Honestly, I think that the backbone of the team has been our parents. […] My dad is our number one fan, he has been to all of the World Cups with his Mexican flag at the ready,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey33.jpg]()
31 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Players of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, having dinner together over the course of a 3-day intensive training week-end in Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on March 9, 2019. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey34.jpg]()
32 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
Macarena Cruz Ceballos (R), 23, one of the defenders of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, spends time with her visiting brother (L) in his bedroom at their home in Mexico City, Mexico on March 17, 2019. Macarena lives with her parents in San Jerónimo Lídice, an affluent residential neighborhood in Mexico City. Her brother lives in Canada, where he plays ice hockey in the Junior League. She studies economics and finance at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, at the Mexico City campus. She started figure skating at age 5 and ice hockey at age 12. She is one of the assistant captains of the team. “Honestly, I think that the backbone of the team has been our parents. […] My dad is our number one fan, he has been to all of the World Cups with his Mexican flag at the ready,” she says. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
![Photography image - Loading WomenIceHockey35.jpg]()
33 of 33
© 2021 Bénédicte Desrus
The whole team (players and coaches) of the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, along with their families, meet at the departure gate of the Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City, Mexico on March 30, 2019. The team is traveling to Scotland to compete in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II Group A. Founded in 2012, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo is the first and only women’s national ice hockey team in Mexico, a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare. In the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Iceland, the team defied expectations; They won Group B, securing their promotion to Group A, and became the only Mexican ice hockey team to have achieved such a feat. This year, they are competing in the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship Division II in Scotland. Having become the first Mexican team to advance to the second round of the Winter Olympics qualifiers in 2016, the now self-financed team are training for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, hoping to be the first Latin American team to compete in ice hockey. (Photo by Bénédicte Desrus)
Public Story
Dreaming big
Credits:
bénédicte desrus
Updated: 02/05/21
DREAMING BIG
In Mexico, the first and only women’s national ice hockey team, the Selección femenil de México de hockey sobre hielo, is defying expectations.
Founded in 2012, in a country where ice rinks are expensive and rare, they became the first Mexican team in the historically male-dominated sport to advance to the second round of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games qualifiers in 2016. They now have their sights on the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Also by Bénédicte Desrus —
