The Annual Drunken, Deadly Horse Race of the Mayan VICE
go to original June 18, 2016

Every year at the end of October, the Mayan villagers in Todos Santos, Guatemala, throw a week-long rager to celebrate their independence. After days of drinking and dancing and barely sleeping, the bravest men in town face off against each other in a wild, wasted horse race.

It's not uncommon to see a drunk rider fly off his saddle and land on his neck, or to watch someone get trampled by another racer's horse. Most years at least one villager dies in the race.

But after the Mayan townspeople have suffered through centuries of genocide by the Spanish and their government, dying drunk and free on the back of a horse isn't the worst way to go. At least it's on their terms.

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