The Tasting Panel magazine

The Dos Equis Exemplars were the fi rst non-natives to play pelota mixteca, a 2,200-year-old Mexica team sport found in just a few Oaxacan villages. n the middle of a dirt fi eld in Mexico, seven young men from north of the border step onto hallowed grounds where no other American has played before. The locals here in Arrazola say the Dos Equis Exemplars are the fi rst non-natives to play pelota mixteca, a 2,200-year-old Mexican team sport found in only a handful of Oaxacan villages. I The Exemplars don the sport's thick leather gloves, to which are affi xed 14-pound stone blocks etched in local decorations. They use these powerful mitts to return the serve from a professional player who bounces a 12-ounce, four-inch-round ball off a fl at, smooth stone and whacks it underhand, sending the ball into the sky like a baseball pop-up. The Exemplars all have their shot at returning serve. More times than not, when their stone glove connects—an accomplish- ment in itself—the ball sails somewhere other than the fi eld of play. Once, it bounced off a teammate's glove and into another player's face. But these are the risks you take when you aspire to be The Most Interesting Man in the World. Participating in the Dos Equis "League of the Most Interesting," these team members have earned an adventure trip of a lifetime— seven out of the 11,569 people registered in the promotional interactive internet site (League. DosEquis.com), as well as for their statement of interest. In Mexico, they not only played an ancient sport, but also surfed the waves of the Barra de la Cruz coastline, fl ew over the mountains in a single-engine plane, snacked on fried crickets—a local appetizer, 34 / the tasting panel / january/february 2012 campaign. According to Dos Equis, the Exemplars were chosen based on the win/loss ratio on the brand's interactive internet site (league. Dosequis.com), as well as for their

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