The aim of this sport is to lift and raise an extremely heavy stone to the height of the stomach, after which it is raised to the chest and shoulders. When the stone is lifted above the head it is called “pulseo de la piedra” (pushing the stone).
This sporting activity first appeared in rural areas as a means of occupying moments of leisure after the completion of the day’s work in the fields. In order to display their strength and skill, peasant farmers applied different methods of stone lifting, such as lifting the stone with one hand or without it touching any part of the body, supporting the stone with various parts of the body, lifting it to the shoulders or onto the head, throwing the stone backwards or displacing the stone as far as possible.
The shape of the stone also varied. Normally, the stone was not tooled into any particular shape, with the result that it could be round, oval, etc. The greater the difficulty in getting a grip on the stone, the greater the strength and skill that was required to lift the stone.
Naturally, persons who take part in this sport need to have enormous physical strength, not to mention the agility that is required, and they need to have a refined technique that enables them to avoid all unnecessary effort.
