The people of San Juan de la Vega, Guanajuato, Mexico have a very peculiar celebration that rocks their town every February. This is what they do:

They SMASH bombs with huge hammers. This local tradition has been around for 400 years and it starts on Ash Wednesday, from sunrise to sunset – or until someone REALLY gets hurt.

Here’s what it looks like. First you secure the explosives to the end of the sledgehammer.

Then one brave soul takes the hammer to their target: a large metal beam or, in this case, a smaller piece of metal.

After finding the perfect spot, you just windup and slam it down with all your might.

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And, um, you just get up and walk it off.

Why do they do it? To celebrate a historic, folklorish fight over gold.

Operativo de seguridad y atención médica durante la festividad en San Juan de la Vega, municipio de Celaya pic.twitter.com/rg6qDteFNZ

— Luis Manuel Martínez (@suegemergencias) February 9, 2016

Credit: @suegemergencias / Twitter

According to legend, the 400-year-old tradition began with a wealthy gold miner named Juan Aquino de la Vega who entered into an epic battle with gold-stealing bandits. De la Vega won the battle and became a Robin Hood-like around the town.

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The explosions are supposed to represent the moment Juan Aquino de la Vega won the fight against the gold bandits.

Credit: David Guadiana / YouTube

Sounds like… fun?

Co-author: Adriana Venegas

Would you take part in they festival if you were there? Share this story with your friends and see who you should take on your next Mexican road trip!

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