The Poktapok is – as I perceived it – a kind of game or ritual. There is a kind of dance at the beginning and at the end and inbetween the what I call ‘hip football’ or something like that is played. Except that the part where the ball has to go through is a little bit like Qudditch – for all the Harry Potter fans among you 😀 It’s something I’ve never seen before, it’s completely alien and yet it’s fascinating. Especially because I really didn’t believe that they could get the ball with their hips through a two or three metre high thing with a hole in it. I really had my doubts… The thing that deeply impressed me was the thing with the fire in the end. That was…. it was really cool. And yes, once again I walked into the whole thing completely unknowing. Just walk around the big park in Mérida in the evening and you’ll never get bored 😀
Regarding the Poktapok: It’s foreign and maybe a bit strange at first because it’s so different to everything we – or at least I at the time – know, but I found it really interesting and cool and in the end it really impressed and captivated me.