If you teach a Spanish sports, health and wellness unit, or even a hobbies unit in Spanish class, it can be difficult to add Hispanic culture into these content areas. Vocabulary tends to be about sports and activities that our students typically participate in: béisbol, tenis, baloncesto, etc. And while I am a firm believer that second language vocabulary should be relatable to our students, there is also a great need for cultural content in our classrooms.
So, when I was designing a Spanish 3 Hispanic Culture course, I had various themes to cover: food, art, traditions, music, and of course sports! I wanted everything in this course to be related to different Spanish-speaking countries, so the traditional vocabulary wasn’t going to cut it. I spent a lot of time researching sports and made sure to cover major sports like baseball in Venezuela or soccer in Latin America, or bullfighting in Spain. But I also dedicated a seminar to “deportes curiosos.” And this Spanish sports seminar was so much fun to teach because students were interested in learning about unique sports that they never heard of before.
I am going to share with you 5 unique sports and some resources that you can use to enhance your Spanish sports unit and incorporate some culture into your lessons.
Tejo: The National Sport of Colombia
Tejo is the national sport of Colombia. Think cornhole, but with explosives! Participants throw a metal disc called a tejo across a small field, about three-feet long towards a board covered in clay. The board resembles that of a cornhold game. The board is covered in clay and wooden frames called tablas. Inside the tablas, there are metal pipes.
The most interesting part of this game is its use of small, exploding targets that contain gunpowder. When a tejo hits the explosives, called mechas, they explode loudly. You can score points by being closest to the target, exploding mechas and getting a bulls-eye.
Resources to teach about Tejo
Video: This is my favorite video! It is authentic, engaging, and really fun. Not to mention, it is accessible for our students. It teaches them how to play tejo and goes over the main parts of the game.
Infographic: This brief infographic shows the history of tejo, starting 500 years ago with indigenous tribes to the year 2000 when tejo was declared the national sport of Colombia.
Pato: The National Sport of Argentina
Pato is the national sport of Argentina. It is a game played on horseback that combines polo and basketball. Its origins are from the gauchos of the 17th century playing on farms. This game is very expensive to play, so only wealthy people can play. The horses can cost upwards of $20,000.
There are two teams of four. Each player is on a horse competing for possession of a leather ball (pato). The player in possession of the pato must ride with their arm outstretched. This allows other players the chance to steal the ball. The objective is to throw the pato through a vertically positioned ring.
You may be thinking, “doesn’t ‘pato’ mean duck in Spanish?” ¡Tienes razón! In the early days of the game, there was a live duck inside of a leather bag rather than a ball.
Resources to teach about Pato
Video: Here is a quick, 30-second promotional video about pato, showing the fast-paced nature and excitement.
Video: With this video, learn the rules of pato and watch some clips from games. Rules
Website: Learn more on this website with 9 fun facts about pato.
Jai Alai: Basque Country & Others
Jai alai is a Basque sport that has grown in popularity throughout Spain, France, Florida and various Latin American countries.
Players bounce a hard rubber ball off a wall at very high speeds, using a hand held curved basket called a “cesta.” The game takes place on a court that has walls on 3 sides. The players must catch and throw the ball in one continuous motion, so it is a very fast-paced game where players can throw the ball at speeds of 150 mph.
Resources to teach about Jai Alai
Infographic: On this website, you’ll find a detailed infographic explaining the rules, equipment, court size, and so much more. This authentic resource could serve as your entire text for teaching about jai alai… it is jam-packed with info.
Video: Although this video is in English, you may want to show it so students understand the game a little bit better.
Video: Another English language video, but I love the YouTube shorts for Jai Alai. They are fast-paced, just like the game!
Bolas Criollas: Venezuela
Similar to bocce, Bolas Criollas is a Venezuelan sport with the objective of throwing a set of balls as close as possible to the small target ball. It is popular in the llanas and rural regions. Two teams compete by throwing their colored balls on a flat rectangular field towards the same small ball.
Resources to teach about Bolas Criollas
Video: Here is a video of highlights of a kids’ tournament or game of bolas criollas. You can hear and see the excitement in the crowd!
Website: Here, you can read about a brief overview of the game, rules, and history.
Chaza: National Sport of Ecuador
La chaza, the national sport of Ecuador, combines elements of racquet sports and soccer, fostering community and teamwork.It is played between two teams, each consisting of several players with the objective of launching a ball (called “bombo”) by hand or racquet so that it bounces into the opponent’s field without being returned.
Resources to teach about Chaza
Visual Video: Watch this video lesson on La Chaza with images, text, and audio about La Chaza. It is great for the Spanish classroom!
Video: Learn about the rules, watch some clips, hear from players, all in this short 1:30 video.
Video: Another great video giving an overview of the game, rules, and interviewing players.
Ideas for Teaching A Unique Spanish Sports Unit
- Compare the unique sports. Students can complete a graphic organizer to identify what equipment is needed, what are the rules, where do you play, etc.
- Compare to a common US sport. Choose one of the sports from a Spanish-speaking country and pick a similar sport, like tejo and cornhole or polo and pato. Create a cultural comparison.
- Make How To videos/presentations. Students can act as though they are presenting one of these new sports to their gym class. They need to explain the objective, rules, equipment, etc. If working in large groups, your students may even model the sport by creating a video!
- YouTube Shorts can provide the best authentic content for sports. Since these sports are not widely known around the world, there is not much content on them. They aren’t heavily promoted. The games don’t air on ESPN. So, who is filming these videos? People playing in their neighborhoods, on the streets, in backyards. You get to see brief videos (which is best for our students!) of real people playing!
What other unique sports would you add to this list?
