If you were born in the Dominican Republic or your parents forced you to take a trip to the island to spend time with your abuelita, there’s a big chance you played vitilla. Not familiar with the term? Let’s start with the pronunciation: bee-tee-ya. Now that pronunciation is out of the way, let’s move on to the basics of the game.
Vitilla is a street game derived from baseball, played with two teams made up of two players or more. It uses many of baseball’s basic rules. Before the 3D-printing era, the actual vitilla (the term for the substitute for the baseball) would come from used water gallon caps. Bats were sourced from your kitchen or house decor, like broomsticks or bamboo sticks. Due to the unpredictability of the vitilla’s traveling path, many baseball players honed their batting skills in the streets of D.R.
To the delight of many East Coast #viejennials, Red Bull is bringing the Clásico De Vitilla to the Bronx. On September 20, Yankee Stadium will serve as the backdrop for 16 teams competing in both the amateur and experienced category.
Head over to Red Bull to sign your team up and watch this doc on vitilla below.