Tuesday 23 May 2006

It’s true, beer improves the game

Felipe told me, no Candice, the point of Tejo is to get drunk. Oh, it all makes sense now!

The objective of the game – if there really is one - is to throw the Tejo (a heavy weight, flat on the bottom) into a clay pit. There was point scoring at one stage, which seemed to fade out as the number of beer bottles increased. I noticed a variety of styles, such as Lisandro´s run and throw combination, which each time performed, had me fearing for his life. ¨Wrong way, turn around¨. Now, I don´t know what other purpose having two clay pits held except for to make you drunker (the spinning around technique) but we were instructed to play to each end in turn.

Now, as everyone knows, all exceptional parties have fireworks and the Colombian´s are not to be outdone. So for the game’s piece de resistance, the center of the clay pit has a metal circle on top of which are placed tiny triangles of paper filled with gun powder. I kid you not.

BANG! Out of nowhere and without prior warning one was set off by Lizandro´s landing Tejo. Everyone cheered amongst the smoke as I nervously recovered from my heart seizure, onset because I thought we were under attack by terrorist guerillas.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Your descriptions have me in tears of laughter... so pleased , you survived the day to tell the tale!