The 12th edition of the Tocatì Festival, or International Festival of Street Games, featured Mexico as this year’s guest country. The festival, which was held in the historical center of Verona, Italy, took place on September 18 to 21.
The festival featured roughly 40 traditional games from both this year’s guest country, Mexico, and various Italian regions. About 300,000 people—matching the total from the previous year—took part in more than 40 traditional games, which filled the city streets and squares with life.
Among the Mexican games was Carrera de arihueta (played by Tarahumaras women); Juego de la caña de maíz (played by the ethnic group Tzotzil of Chiapas); and the pre-Columbian games from Sinaloa State, Ulama de antebrazo (a ball game in which the ball is hit with the forearm) and Ulama de cadera (in which the ball is hit only with the hips). There was also the Mexican game Pelota p’urepecha, played with a ball that is actually on fire.
There were also many visitors to the International Forum of the Game Culture (Cortile Mercato Vecchio) who met with scholars, players, and fans. Meanwhile, experts from ethnographic museums in France, Italy, Tunisia, and Switzerland spoke on cultural diversity and game rituals—themes of this year’s forum.
Associazione Giochi Antichi (AGA) organized the festival in collaboration with the Municipality of Verona—Culture Department, and in partnership with the European Association of Traditional Sports and Games.
