Pelota mixteca facts for kids

Pelota mixteca is an exciting team sport from Mexico that's a bit like tennis, but without a net! Players wear special, heavy gloves to hit a solid rubber ball. This game has a very long history, going back hundreds or even thousands of years.

Today, you can find pelota mixteca played in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. It's also popular in communities where people from these areas have moved, like Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Fresno, California.

Each team has five players. They set up on one side of a long, narrow court. This court is usually about 100 meters (330 feet) long and 11 meters (36 feet) wide, marked out on hard-packed dirt. To start a point, a player bounces the ball on a flat stone, then hits it as it bounces up. The way points are scored is similar to how they are counted in tennis.

What Are Pelota Mixteca Gloves Like?

A pelota mixteca player with their special glove and ball. The hitting part of the glove has nails in it.

The gloves used in pelota mixteca are very big and strong. They often have nails sticking out of them to help hit the ball! These gloves are also quite heavy, weighing between 3 to 6 kilograms (7 to 12 pounds). Imagine swinging something that heavy with your hand!

Different Types of Pelota Mixteca Balls

While balls were once made from wool, today they use different materials.

A pelota mixteca de forro ball, which has a deerskin lining.

• Pelota mixteca de forro (Lined Ball): This is the most common type of game. The ball is made of rubber wrapped with thread and covered with soft suede. It weighs about 300–330 grams (12 ounces) and is 8–10 centimeters (3–4 inches) wide.
• Pelota mixteca de hule (Rubber Ball): This version uses a heavier rubber ball, weighing about 900 grams (2 pounds). It doesn't have an outer lining and is often painted in bright colors.
• Los Angeles Plastic Ball: In the Los Angeles area, some players use a plastic ball that weighs 1–1.5 kilograms (2–3 pounds).
• Pelota mixteca del valle (Valley Ball): This is a less common version. It uses a very light sponge ball, weighing less than 100 grams (3.5 ounces). Players hit this ball with a wooden paddle strapped to their hand.

How Old Is Pelota Mixteca?

Many people believe that pelota mixteca comes from the ancient Mesoamerican ball game. This older game was played over 3,000 years ago by civilizations like the Maya and Aztec. Some carvings at the Mixtec site of Dainzu show a game that looks like an early version of pelota mixteca.

However, some experts, like Heiner Gillmeister, think the game might have come from a European sport. He suggests it could be related to an old French-Flemish game, similar to real tennis. This game might have then traveled to New Spain (which is now Mexico) about 400 years ago. This idea connects pelota mixteca to other games like Basque pelota or Valencian pilota.

Images for kids

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  A pelota mixteca player with rubber ball and glove. The striking surface of the glove (facing down in this photo) is studded with nails driven into the glove

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  A deerskin-lined pelota mixteca de forro ball

See also

In Spanish: Pelota mixteca para niños