Since over 100 years ago, locals of the village of Chivarreto, in San Francisco el Alto, 200 km east of Guatemala City, hold bare-knuckle fights on Good Friday. This tradition was born from a conflict between locals from Chivarreto and San Antonio Sija, and has become a local custom over the years. Participants from the audience challenge each other to fight, solely and exclusively with their bare hands until one of them bleeds, surrenders or falls to the ground.
During Holy Week, the village of Chivarreto receives hundreds of tourists from the region and other western districts. They come to participate in sacrum sactivities and watch the fights. The municipality organizes the event with the supervision of the national civil police and with ambulances nearby to attend to the injured.