Playball: Earliest Ballcourt in Highland Mexico | A Book Talk by Prof. Jeffrey Blomster

The Mexican Cultural Institute is honored to present Los Juegos de Pelota, a journey through one of Mesoamerica's most captivating traditions. Spanning thousands of years, the ball game was far more than sport: it was ritual, power, and cosmology in motion. This first-of-its-kind cycle traces its story from ancient past to present day.

The series opens with Playball: Earliest Ballcourt in Highland Mexico — A Book Talk by Prof. Jeffrey Blomster on the origins and cultural significance of the Mesoamerican ballgame. Join us on May 13th at 6:30 PM at the Mexican Cultural Institute. 

In this lecture, Prof. Blomster explores one of the oldest and most important sporting traditions in the Americas: the Mesoamerican ballgame. Drawing on archaeological research from Oaxaca and beyond, he traces the early development of the game and examines its deep ritual and symbolic meanings within ancient Mesoamerican societies.

Far more than a sport, the ballgame served as a powerful arena for political expression, religious ceremony, and social organization. Through material evidence and historical interpretation, this talk sheds light on how the game reflected broader ideas about cosmology, conflict, and community in