At the sound of the explosion, I jolted backward, my hand instinctively flying toward my chest and the sputtering heart within. Visibly shaken, my eyes scanned the room, searching for the blast’s source. Dust coated every inch of the space, hanging in the air and clinging to any piece of dark fabric.
Overhead lights flickered. Groups of locals sat huddled around small plastic tables, unfazed and unbothered by the eruption of noise, continuing animated conversations, of which I could only pick up a word here and there. The clink of beer bottles, toasting a successful attempt, along with a few bursts of laughter wafted up from where the detonation occurred, my only concrete evidence it had ever even happened.
While somewhat disorienting, in hindsight this seemed the perfect introduction to the country, to this establishment- Los Bucaros – and to the quintessentially Colombian sport of tejo. Believed to have started hundreds of years ago, the game, also known as “turmequé” originated amidst the Muisca, an indigenous group living in the Colombian high plains.
Today, it’s become a national pastime, second in popularity only to soccer. And while somewhat altered from its original state, in which participants launched pieces of gold at ceramics, (it’s believed the Spaniards added gunpowder into the mix) the modern-day version maintains many of the same rules.
Easy to learn but impossible to play well, the game combines strategy, socializing and excitement in a way that recognizes the country’s past and encompasses Colombia today. Both unexpected and downright fun, tejo represents so much of what makes Colombia worth visiting.
To read the rest of the story, including learning the rules of the game, check out the full article written for Go Nomad. And if you find yourself traveling throughout Colombia, here’s a list of 8 must-do activities in Cartagena.
