Basque Rural Sports on the National Mall

Herri kirolak, or Basque rural sports, require great amounts of strength, speed, endurance, and willpower. Out of the fifteen traditional rural sports, we showcased nine at the 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, including stone lifting, anvil lifting, and tug-of-war. Some visitors may have been surprised to see that the majority of the athletes competing were female, but that is one of the reasons they came: to show the world what women can do.

Production, editing: Claudia Romano
Videography: Pruitt Allen, Albert Tong

[Catalog No. CFV10850; Copyright 2016 Smithsonian Institution]