SPINNING TOP RACE
If you were a child in Rio de Janeiro in the 1950s and 1960s, you probably spun tops a lot, risking tricks on the palm of your hand, on your legs, and on your arms. Democratic in nature, the top could be played on all kinds of surfaces, and, in rainy weather, matches in the mud and wet earth generated a certain tension among the participants.
Spinning-top game – Engraving by Alcides Oliveira
Image description: The image is a painting showing two people playing with a spinning top. The figure on the left is holding a top stick and looking at the other figure, who is in motion, appearing to be about to strike the top with the stick. The top is on the ground, inside a drawn circle. The colors are predominantly pastel, with shades of green, beige, and gray. In the bottom right corner, it reads "Alcides 2020".The game included tricks such as making the top slide along the string or, while it was spinning, catching it by the tip with the string and tossing it into the air, then either grabbing it with the hand or setting it back down on the ground. The “à vera” games involved wagers, and the fun was to win over or destroy your opponents' tops.
The "roda de pião" was the name given to the collective game, and the most common way to play was to use the object to knock the prizes out of the "cela" (a circle drawn on the ground), which could be filled with tops, marbles, coins, and even banknotes. Another variation was to place the spinning top in the middle of the "cela" while the players tried to hit it.
STICKBALL
Taco game – Engraving by Alcides Oliveira
Image description: The image is a painting in beige and yellow tones, depicting a game of taco (a Brazilian bat-and-ball game). On the left side, we see two men holding taco bats, one of them gripping the bat with both hands. In the center, a man is throwing a yellow ball. On the right, two other men are in a defensive position, ready to catch the bat. The word "TACO" is written in black letters in the lower right corner of the image. The work is by Alcides Oliveira, as mentioned in the caption on the website.On any street free of traffic or on wide sidewalks, one could see, in the 1960s and 1970s, the game of "taco" being played. It was an activity that filled the intervals between pickup soccer games for cariocas. Skill, dexterity, and the ability to focus were central to the game, which was the horror of mothers who watched their broom handles disappear to serve as bats. Broken windowpanes, balls stuck in hard-to-reach places, and passersby getting hit by balls were common occurrences. From the North Zone to the South Zone, there wasn't a street without a game of taco going on.
The origin of "jogo de taco" (stick-and-ball game) is unclear, but it's believed to be derived from cricket or baseball. Some historians say the game was created by Brazilian raft fishermen in the 19th century. To play, you need a small rubber ball, a broomstick cut in half, and a 'little house' formed by three pieces of bamboo or wooden slats balanced together, resulting in a triangular shape.
