1. Exploding Sledgehammer Fest
Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, San Juan Bautista helped a local rancher and devoted catholic Juan Aquino retrieve his stolen gold from bandits. Now, every February the San Juan de La Vega villagers celebrate Juan Bautista’s triumph by strapping explosives to sledgehammers! Some people celebrate their town’s namesake with ceremonies and feasts, but when your village is named after a badass like San Juan de La Vega, it is custom to blow shit up and run from falling sledgehammers!
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When February finally rolls around, villagers celebrate their patron saint’s explosive triumph over the thieves by strapping explosives to sledgehammers, and driving those bad boys down a steel railing in the middle of a soccer field. (Or “futbol” for those of you outside the U.S.)
Crowds descend on the field. They break up into two sides, one representing the bandits and the other representing Aquino. They then take turns slamming the loaded hammers. Every hit creates a cloud of phosphorous smoke and sometimes sends shrapnel flying aimlessly throughout the field.
In the past, people have lost their eyes, a boy lost his hand, and a teen burned nearly 90 percent of his body after his explosive-laden backpack exploded due to a nearby blast. At least 25 people were injured with shrapnel wounds in 2015. Nonetheless, the fiesta has been raging for centuries.
Why stop now?
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