Pétanque in Mexico
Pétanque in Mexico: how Ensenada's Valle de Guadalupe wine country gave rise to the Federación Mexicana de Petanca in 2011, its national club network, and open tournaments from Baja California to Yucatán.
Federation
Federación Mexicana de Petanca (FedMex)
Pétanque in Mexico
Mexican pétanque traces its roots to Baja California's wine country, where regular contact with French winegrowers in the Valle de Guadalupe and visiting players from nearby San Diego turned a casual pastime into the seed of a national federation. From that start in Ensenada, the sport has since spread to clubs in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Querétaro, and Mérida.
History
Lunes de Petank, founded in 2010 in El Sauzal, Ensenada, is recognized as Mexico's first organized pétanque club - a group that got its name from playing every Monday ("lunes") in San Miguel. Growing out of that circle, the Federación Mexicana de Petanca (FedMex) was registered in January 2011 with founding president David Martínez Garza, also of Lunes de Petank, and the federation affiliated with the FIPJP the same year in time to send a team to the 2012 Men's Triples World Championship in Marseille. Since 2022, FedMex has been led by president Adlai Pulido.
The Federation (FedMex)
FedMex is headquartered at Calle Hidalgo 48 in El Sauzal de Rodríguez, Ensenada, Baja California - the same wine-country stretch where Lunes de Petank, Club +Petanca, and Chanté Club all sit within about 30 km of each other. The federation groups its affiliated clubs into regions covering Baja California/Norte, Bajío, Centro (including Mexico City), Occidente, and the Sur, with roughly two dozen officially registered clubs nationwide and about 400 registered players, including 94 women. FedMex represents Mexico at the FIPJP and is one of the more active members of the Pan-American Petanque Confederation, alongside Canada and the United States.
Mexico's first true national championship followed regional qualifying competitions held in 2023, bringing together teams from across the country's regions to compete in men's and women's doubles and triples.
Federation Contact
FedMex's national office is at Calle Hidalgo 48, El Sauzal de Rodríguez, Ensenada, Baja California 22800, Mexico. General enquiries can be sent to mexico@fedmexpetanca.org (secretariat matters to secretario@fedmexpetanca.org) or by phone at (+52) 1 646 151 3039.
Major Tournaments
FedMex's annual calendar includes several international-caliber open tournaments, reflecting the sport's spread beyond its Baja California birthplace:
- Ensenada Opens: Two open tournaments held annually in the federation's home city, drawing on its proximity to Southern California's pétanque scene.
- Guadalajara Open: An annual open tournament representing the Occidente region.
- Querétaro Open: An annual open tournament in the Bajío region.
- Mérida Open: An annual open tournament representing the Yucatán Peninsula, one of the country's newer pétanque hubs.
- Campeonato Nacional (National Championship): FedMex's flagship national event for triples and doubles, men's and women's, held since regional qualifiers began in 2023.
Clubs & Hotspots
Lunes de Petank remains the federation's core club, playing on 12 courts in El Sauzal and serving as the historical and administrative heart of Mexican pétanque. In Mexico City, Club Petanca Roma was the country's first dedicated pétanque restaurant-bar, running four courts alongside food and drink service in the Roma Norte neighborhood, while Club de Petanca Coyoacán organizes tournaments at local venues in the capital's south. Beyond Baja California and Mexico City, clubs and informal groups play in Guadalajara, Querétaro, and Mérida, tracking the federation's five-region structure.
No results found