In Mexico, a sledgehammer ritual was held despite a ban
In the town of San Juan de la Vega in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, residents held a traditional ritual involving sledgehammers and homemade explosives despite the authorities' ban on their use during the carnival. As Mexico News Daily reports, according to the publication, such a restriction was introduced for the first time in the town's history, but participants continued the ritual in the streets and beyond them.
Every year on the Tuesday before Lent, participants attach charges to sledgehammers, take them to open areas and strike the ground with the tools. The publication notes that such explosions have caused severe injuries: people have lost fingers, hands, arms or legs, while heavy sledgehammers can fly into the air after detonation.
A tradition in honor of a saint
Local families associate the carnival with honoring Saint John the Baptist, who is called San Juanito. According to a local legend, a man named Aquino de la Vega was transporting silver cargoes along the Camino Real by mule when they began to be attacked by robbers. He prayed to Saint John the Baptist and then promised to honor the saint every year together with his sons.
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Six families associated with different areas of the town uphold this vow: they finance music, food and processions, and keep the image of the saint in their homes throughout the year. The publication's sources stressed that, in their view, the original rite involved small charges, while powerful explosions emerged later.
Police stopped participants
At night, processions with music and an image of San Juanito passed through the streets of San Juan de la Vega. Among the participants were people carrying sledgehammers and backpacks that, according to journalists' observations, were used to transport explosives. Police later arrived in the town, confiscated charges and detained several people.
After the police appeared, some participants moved to railway tracks outside the town. There, they continued detonating sledgehammers on steel beams. Journalists witnessed a sledgehammer striking a teenager in the head after one of the explosions; his companion bandaged the wound with a shirt and took the injured person away on a motorcycle. Other participants in the ritual did not stop after this.
