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wanted to test each other's strength, a friendly exchange throughout if
only for the way this frenetic Flemish guy translated everything with
mouth, hands and feet. Krikksen interfered only minimally, injecting
tiny slices of sanity in the exchange.
Naturally, they ended up as referees. They're from Flanders,
neutral, objective and mad as two hatters, complete with white
rabbits, cheesy smiles and looking glasses. How much closer to
perfection can you get?
So, on the last day of Carnival, there is the big match of Yul
versus Pedro. It is one in three different rounds.
First round: weightlifting.
Since both Yul and Pedro had no problem with lifting the city's
special rock, the manhood stone of Cádiz, something had to be
improvised. So they took a strong, wooden box from Pedro's shop,
put a thick rope under and around it, filled it with his heaviest tools
and added horseshoes until both giants started having trouble lifting
the box. Their faces become red, cheeks blow up as they huff and
puff and muscles swell to bursting point.
Although with increasing difficulty, both men can still lift the box
and keep it up for the required three seconds. After every round, one
more horseshoe is added. At a certain moment, Yul grabs the rope,
lifts and lifts, there is some extra strength left in his arms but
somehow his legs can't keep up. Try as he might, the weight doesn't
leave the ground.
Then it's Pedro's turn. His technique is different: instead of
bending over and keeping his legs straight, Pedro sags through his
knees and keeps his back and arms straight. With him it's the other
way around: his thick legs have some power to spare, it's his arms that
are stretched to their limits. His arm muscles feel like snapping, but
they hold. Barely, and very shortly. But enough to lift the weight
from the ground for the required three seconds. Then he drops the
load and jumps up in triumph. The first to congratulate him is Yul.
Second round: arm wrestling.
For this, the big conference table of the town hall is placed on the
staged elevation in the central plaza, ensuring all onlookers a good
view. The big chairs from the same place are barely large enough to
seat the two giants. In a confrontation like this, it is vitally important
that the arms of both wrestlers are placed in so equal a position as is
possible in order to prevent that one has an unfair advantage over the
other. Watt, flamboyant referee par excellence makes quite a show of
positioning those two pillars of power. Jumping around both
contestants like a living honey statue trying to evade a horde of
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