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BlakeThe "official" national Mexican sport is the Charreada or Charreria, which is the original rodeo developed in Mexico based on the working practices of charros or the working hands.
Also, the Mesoamerican ball game, played by Aztecs and Mayas some 3,000 years before contact with Europeans was made. It was a game similar to Racquetball or volleyball, where the object was to keep a solid rubber ball in play. In formal games, the losing team members were sacrificed to the ancient Mesoamerican gods. Due to the extremely brutal game mechanics - even without the human sacrifice - it is now played just for representation purposes.
Charreria or Charreada is the traditional Mexican rodeo, based on working practices by Mexican cowboys. Some of the events in this sport include:
- Reining
- Heeling
- Steer Tailing
- Bull Riding
- Team Roping
- Bareback on a wild mare
The other traditional game, now of folkloric nature only is the Mesoamerican Ball Game, practiced by ancient civilizations such as Mayans and Aztecs, where two teams played against each other, using a solid rubber ball. The game is so brutal - due to the heavy ball - that it is not practiced professionally.
The three most important include charreria or charreada (akin to modern rodeo practices), basque pelota and bullfighting.
Charreria and bullfighting were first introduced since the 16th century by Spanish hacienda owners, whose original sport was based on the working practices of charros or working hands. Basque pelota was introduced by Spanish and French immigrants during the 19th century.
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