In Halachó, a small municipality in México’s Yucatán Peninsula, southeast of the country, the temperature reached 103 degrees for the first pitch of the softball match between the Amazonas of Yaxunah and the Águilas de San Antonio. Barefoot on scorched earth, with their toes curled up to the sky, the Amazonas won 24-19.

The Amazonas was formed in 2018 to challenge traditional and cultural gender norms that restricted women’s participation in sports. The collective of 28 women on the team, aged 14 to 63, play in their traditional Huipil dresses. These embroidered garments, commonly used by Indigenous women in Central México down to Central America, represent their cultural identity through their design and color. The Amazonas chose to play in their traditional dresses to honor their Mayan culture. It remains unknown how far the Huipil dates back to but ceramic figures that are thousands of years old have been found dawning the same clothing style.

When the team formed, they were told the field was for men only. But despite the community’s resistance and their limited resources, they persisted. With little equipment, they played with sticks as bats. Even now they choose to play barefoot when batting and in sandals (“chanclas”) instead of the typical cleats seen in most softball and baseball games. Playing barefoot “allows us to be free,” says right fielder Yessica Yazmin Diaz Canul.

The Amazonas continue to break free from cultural gender norms and barriers set upon them, inspiring many throughout México. Last year, they were invited to throw out the first pitch at one of the Arizona Diamondbacks games against the San Francisco Giants. “They tried to tell us women can’t play sports, women can’t go out of the house, they can’t study, they can’t work with men. That’s our rebellion,” says Diaz Canul.