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Posts Tagged ‘sports’

Barefoot champions of the mountains

Posted in Sports & Recreation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2013| 1 Comment »

Some rare good news from Florida…

Team photo

Two young Triqui basketball teams qualified to participate in the International Tournament YBOA (Youth Basketball of America) in Orlando, Florida this month.  They are from the Academia de Baloncesto Indígena México (ABIM), an athletic project founded by professor Sergio Zúñiga, with the mission of “rescuing the youth of the Triqui communities of Oaxaca from the extreme poverty and violence that they live in… to better the lives of these kids through sports and education.”  Read their story, including why they play barefoot, HERE.

The tournament has ended and, though they did not win the tournament championship, they won hearts and (one can only hope) minds.  To me, these young ambassadors were winners in the important ways that matter.  ¡Felicitaciones!

For video of the team playing and information about the documentary that is being made about these kids, take a look at the blog, Mexico’s Barefoot Champions.

October 2013 update:  They came and saw and conquered: Triqui sweep in World Basketball

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B-ball, Oaxaca style

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Sports & Recreation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Basketball is big in Oaxaca and  was big news to me!

In Teotitlán del Valle, located in the valley Oaxaca, there is a tradition of climbing El Picacho on Día de la Santa Cruz (May 3).  I’d also heard celebrations also included an annual basketball tournament.  Sure enough, the sound of a play-by-play announcer, ref’s whistle, and buzzer occasionally floated up to our perch on the top of the mountain.  When we descended El Picacho via a different route, we came to a basketball court a few blocks from the village center, and an intense game in progress, with other teams waiting in the wings — in this case, the road!

Basketball game with mountain in background

Eight days later, we drove up into the Mixe in Oaxaca’s Sierre Norte for the Fiesta de Mayo in Santa María Tlahuitoltepec.  Once there, we were directed to a basketball court (did we hear correctly?) at the center of town — the mercado off to one side; church on another side; municipal buildings off to another.  We had expected folkloric dancers or ceremonial presentations, but were surprised to find a basketball tournament in progress.  It eventually ended and the expected dancing began.

Partially covered basket ball court.

According to Hoop Dreams in Oaxaca:

Any proper town in Latin America has a church facing a plaza — except the towns of the Sierra Norte region of Mexico, where Jorge Santiago is from.

“In my part of the Sierra, the basketball courts are like the zócalo in the colonial city,” Mr. Santiago said, using a Mexican word for “plaza.” “It’s really the most important part of the town. A respectable town has a church, and a basketball court in front of the church.”

Read full article HERE.

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Vamos Niners!

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Sports & Recreation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Super Bowl madness in the Bay Area.  Can’t find any San Francisco 49er-Oaxaca connection, except scores of fanáticos.  So, here’s a little red and gold from the walls of Oaxaca…

IMG_0362aIMG_0379 P1020707

¡Vamos Niners!

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