Guatemalans love spectator sports, the most popular being football (soccer), followed by baseball and basketball. Bicycle races are also major events, with tours in numerous towns and cities. In October and December, bullfights in Guatemala City draw large crowds. Because of Guatemala's mild climate, people can relax and socialize outdoors much of the year. Children run around outside playing games such as "thieves and police," hide and seek, tenta (tag) and electrisado (statues). Children also play with simple materials such as shells and stones, and girls make dolls out of dough. Some school grounds have soccer fields, and the game is popular with both sexes. Boys also enjoy baseball, while girls prefer basketball or volleyball. A favourite evening activity is clustering on street corners to listen to ghost stories, including the one about the fearsome "man with the big sombrero." Playtime is more limited for poorer children, who must help their parents on farms or with crafts. Men and women tend to socialize with their own sex. Male companionship is very important to men. Several times a week, men meet over coffee or beer with friends they’ve known since childhood, to talk, play cards or watch soccer. Many men confide in their male friends more than their wives. Women are less likely to leave home in the evenings, although female co-workers sometimes get together for coffee after work. If women do not work outside the home, daily chores and shopping are opportunities to socialize with other women during the day.
Typically, Sunday is a day for going to church, visiting others or being with family. Relatives stop by and families promenade in the streets, dressed in their best clothes. After a family meal, the afternoon might be devoted to a basketball game between cousins, or a visit to a local park or riverbank.
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