Juego de bolos serranos (mountain bowling)

The Bolo Andaluz (Andalusian Bowling) or Juego de Bolos Serranos (Mountain bowling) is a form of expression, in the way of a traditional game or sport that is shared by the inhabitants of the current Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park, and which forms part of their identity. It is currently considered to be the only indigenous sport of Andalusia.

Origins and historical notes

There is not much information about the origin of this sport, although different hypotheses place it in the Reconquest and other during the Modern Age (16^th-17^th centuries). It reached its peak in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20^th century, at a time when the population in these mountain ranges was at its highest. It began to decline from the 1950s and 1960s onwards due to emigration to other autonomous communities. From the 1980s onwards, a process of recovery began until the present day, when the game is spreading through competitions organised by the clubs, the Diputación Cup and the Federation Circuit.

In three of the four municipalities that make up the Sierra de las Villas (Villacarrillo, Villanueva del Arzobispo and Iznatoraf) there are bowling alleys (or “boleas”), with Villacarrillo being the municipality with the largest number of bowlers, currently having seven active bowling alleys. They are a lively and dynamic form of expression, passed down and recreated from generation to generation as an apprenticeship, originally practised by adult men, but which nowadays also includes women and younger members.

At the beginning of the eighties of the 20th century, the “sportivization” of the game began, incorporating both women and children in the competitions, and it is in the year 2000 when this sport was federated, organising championships at regional, provincial and county level; nowadays competitions are also held at national level.

It is usually played in two modalities, known as Valle (valley) and Montaña (mountain), both belonging to the group of “pasabolos”, a group of games in which the distance at which the bowling pins are sent after impact with the ball is rewarded.

Usually, bolos serranos are played in teams (from three to six players), and there may be individual or pair “challenges”. In tournaments, there are individual competitions, in pairs or in teams of four players. At the competitive and federated level, participation is by clubs. Outside the official competition, the amateurs who play this game-sport do not necessarily have to belong to a club. The bowling alleys or “boleas” are places for sociability and the game available to all social groups.

This sport is also practised in another point of the province of Jaén: two minor local entities in the town of Espelúy (Metropolitan Area of Jaén): La Estación and Poblado del I.A.R.A.

The Bolo Andaluz has been considered a sporting speciality since 1998 by the Andalusian Bowling Federation. In 2010 it was recognised by the Spanish Bowling Federation as a national sporting speciality thanks to the fact that, due to the phenomenon of emigration, it is currently practised in six Spanish autonomous communities: Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Castile-La Mancha and, of course, Andalusia.

Bolas y mingos. Espelúy (Jaén). Photo: Estefanía Fernández Fernández. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico

IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Bolos Serranos Especialidad Valle. Espelúy (Jaén). Photo: Estefanía Fernández Fernández. © Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico

IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

IAPH image under the conditions established under license cc-by 3.0 de Creative Common. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Canal Sur Jaén. (2019). Bolos Serranos, deporte andaluz documentado ya en el siglo XVIII. [Video File].

Reference:
Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico. Francisco Jiménez Rabasco, Atlas del Patrimonio Inmaterial de Andalucía. Fase 3. Zona 6. Juego de bolos serranos, 2017.