Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines


Combat
Referee drops two opposing roosters and starts another fight.
behind bars
Gambling public contained by the bars.
Fact Sheet
Specialist puts a blade in the leg of another rooster.
Betting
Bettors urge others to bet and accept or reject bets with shouts of "meron" and "wala".
The Owner of the Blades
Slide holder holds the folder in which you keep your valuable work tools.
Cabinets
Craft experts place blades on fighting cocks.
first confrontation
Rooster owners entice them to propitiate combat.
death Punch
Rooster corpse wounded to death after plucking.
Boss
Rocky Balboa, the fight organizer in the Philippines, expelled from Canada for doing it in this country.
rooster & owner
Rooster owner in one of the blade placement cabinets.
service plucker
The one in charge of processing the roosters killed in the fighting, already plucked and hung with great fatal blows.
fatal weapon
Specialist puts a sharp blade on a rooster's leg.
betting board
Man fills the board of participants and bets in a Philippine arena.
Small Rescue Surgery
Veterinarian cuts and sews a rooster hit by another during combat to prevent the owner from losing it.
The End of Fighting
Participants and spectators prepare to leave the Mogpog cockfighting arena on the island of Marinduque
Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.

We enter the room of the small Manila hotel tired from a recent adventure in Indonesia.

To relax, we turn on the TV. We give ourselves, for a moment, to a zapping uncommitted and curious. Dismissing countless trivial programs, we are faced with a tight shot of two hesitant birds in a small arena. The unusual catches our attention.

In the neighbor Japan, it would be the heavy exoticism of the juice that would attract us, United States, the masochistic challenge of trying to understand the charm of baseball. At Thailand, maybe the muai thai (Thai boxing). We just arrived in the Philippines. The national sport is cockfighting (sabong).

To prove it, there is a dedicated channel that broadcasts them for hours on end, enriched by enthusiastic analysis and comments on Tagalog, the national dialect.

We develop an unexpected interest in the cruel eccentricity of this tradition introduced centuries ago by Spanish colonists. We took advantage of the discovery of the Philippines and decided to investigate and photograph some tournaments held in galleries from different islands.

participants and spectators, cockfighting, Philippines

Participants and spectators prepare to leave the Mogpog cockfighting arena on the island of Marinduque

Leading Cock Fights in the Philippines

This rooster fight tour began in Bohol, went through the unlikely Marinduque. ended in Camiguin, already almost in the back of the Philippines.

It is a scorching day that we enter the precinct of Dauis, in Bohol. He is plagued by the crowing of hundreds of cocks with raised crests.

blades, cockfighting, philippines

Craft experts place blades on fighting cocks.

Inside, the fights are already taking place, but abroad, in cabins built for the purpose, well paid specialists tie up tares (spur-shaped blades) on the paws of fighting birds using small suitcases to keep them tidy.

In spite of its abundance and diversity, a notice posted on a plywood warns: “Double blades are not allowed”.

fatal blade, cockfighting, philippines

Specialist puts a blade in the leg of another rooster.

Next door, breeders/trainers pit their competitors against each other to excite and exercise them. A veterinarian on duty cleans and sews wounds from already affected cocks, with the task of recovering them for future combat.

cockfighting, cockfighting, philippines

Veterinarian cuts and sews a rooster hit by another during combat to prevent the owner from losing it.

A few meters ahead, the competitors that followed from the derby are weighed, on a tiny scale that establishes their categories.

Despite the frenzy and intensity of the event, the unexpected presence of foreign photographers attracts attention. It provokes a series of extemporaneous reactions.

They call us to the proximity of a strong man in a baggy tank top and inform us with enthusiasm and reverence: “He is one of the great champions! Have you noticed the arm? Only those who have many victories can do one like this!”

By this time, the targeted hero already sees himself in the praise. He turns his right bicep and exposes the fighting cock he's tattooed with black ink.

We continue to tour the exterior of the gallera The mission is becoming more and more complicated due to the agglomeration of people near the ticket office. When we finally got in, sabungan (arena), the atmosphere is dense.

The roar already audible outside becomes deafening.

The Crazy Interior of the Galleras

The terms meron e wala shouted over and over again, they announce a new fight. The exclusively male crowd combines them with handbag-like gestures. In this way, it is defined who wants to bet a high amount (thousands of pesos) or a low amount (hundreds of pesos).

betting, cockfighting, philippines

Bettors urge others to bet and accept or reject bets with shouts of “meron” and “wala”.

As soon as the confrontation starts, the hysterical screams start to encourage the competing roosters.

Em Coron, in the south of the vast Philippine archipelago, introduce us to the dubious Ricky Balboa, a derbie promoter who confesses, with barely disguised pride, gangster, having been expelled from Canada for organizing fighting there.

combat organizer, cockfighting, philippines

Rocky Balboa, the fight organizer in the Philippines, expelled from Canada for doing it in this country.

Now cockfighting is illegal in Canada, as it is in most of the so-called civilized world.

As he counts the peso bills he received from the punters, Ricky describes another of his fringe adventures. Seduced by a marketing ploy, let us go inside the cockpit and to you. The closest spectators assure us that it was a privilege of a few.

The Unexpected Access to the Coron Arena Moat

We take advantage of the kindness and find ourselves in a surreal situation, surrounded by bars and an ecstatic crowd.

public behind bars, cockfights, philippines

Gambling public contained by the bars.

A bolder Filipino tries his luck with foreigners. Even unintentionally, it encourages others to challenge us, which we are forced to refuse with as much humor as possible, whether as a matter of principle or because we do not know how to assess the difference between the called (the favorite) and the left (the aspirant).

This is how the fighting roosters are differentiated in local terminology.

cock owner, cockfighting, philippines

Rooster owner in one of the blade placement cabinets.

Competition resumes. By releasing their roosters, the coaches unleash immediate and violent attacks that make feathers fly and force us to run around the arena.

As a rule, rooster attacks start out energetic, with great leaps with raised paws. As they suffer damage, birds lose their glow.

cockfighting, cockfighting, philippines

Rooster owners entice them to propitiate combat.

Blow after blow, the intervention of the referee is necessary to revive them. The fight only ends when one or both of the roosters come to a standstill.

combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines

Referee drops two opposing roosters and starts another fight.

The Sacred Decision of the Sentensifier of Cock Fights

At that time, the verdict of the sensory (judge) is unappealable.

For the avoidance of doubt, its determining power is well explained in red, in English, on a panel with four sides that crowns the arena: "Judge decision is final. "

After that fight, there is a twenty-minute break. Soon, the bets are resumed. They prolong a cycle that lasts all afternoon and thickens an increasingly smoky atmosphere.

Ricky's employees take the beaten or badly injured losing roosters outside. Outside, they are immediately plucked and cooked. The nakedness of the birds reveals atrocious blows. At the same time, the defeated creators face the wounds of their disillusionment.

dead cock, cockfight, philippines

Rooster corpse wounded to death after plucking.

Lucky breeders, for their part, are easily identifiable around the gallery. They ride their cocks with extra care, exchange easy jokes with other satisfied gamblers. And they display the paws that they cut, like trophies, to the birds that theirs took their lives.

The Financial Facet of Philippine Cock Fights

Whenever they pass the knockout, the triumphant roosters enrich their owners. They recover and multiply the money spent on them, invested in special rations, medicines, other treatments and the expensive tournament registration.

In small towns, each registration is around 100 euros. It can cost infinitely more at the big TV-broadcast tournaments, competitions that involve both the Filipino middle class and the country's wealthy VIPs, including influential actors and politicians.

The ultimate happiness belongs to the supreme winners of each derby. Among all the events we attended, the triumphant creators collected a minimum of almost 2000 euros (120.000 pesos).

That's a lot of money for the poor standard of living in the Philippines. Still, a tiny fraction of what is at stake in competitions at national and international level.

betting board, cockfighting, philippines

Man fills the board of participants and bets in a Philippine arena.

Cockfighting is not native to or exclusive to the Philippines, far from it. Several other nations in Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, from Central and South America and to the Spanish archipelago of Canary Islands (where, by contrast, bullfighting is prohibited) share the fervor for sport.

In the Philippines, however, the phenomenon reaches unique proportions. The gigantic Araneta Coliseum in Quezon (near Manila) hosts the World Slasher Derby twice a year.

In this multimillion-dollar competition that enjoys direct and indirect government support, the best roosters in the world face off.

And Filipinos are thrilled with their cockfights more than ever.

Bacolod, Philippines

A Festival to Laugh at Tragedy

Around 1980, the value of sugar, an important source of wealth on the Philippine island of Negros, plummeted and the ferry “Don Juan” that served it sank and took the lives of more than 176 passengers, most of them from Negrès. The local community decided to react to the depression generated by these dramas. That's how MassKara arose, a party committed to recovering the smiles of the population.
Camiguin, Philippines

An Island of Fire Surrended to Water

With more than twenty cones above 100 meters, the abrupt and lush, Camiguin has the highest concentration of volcanoes of any other of the 7641 islands in the Philippines or on the planet. But, in recent times, not even the fact that one of these volcanoes is active has disturbed the peace of its rural, fishing and, to the delight of outsiders, heavily bathed life.
Talisay City, Philippines

Monument to a Luso-Philippine Love

At the end of the 11th century, Mariano Lacson, a Filipino farmer, and Maria Braga, a Portuguese woman from Macau, fell in love and got married. During the pregnancy of what would be her 2th child, Maria succumbed to a fall. Destroyed, Mariano built a mansion in his honor. In the midst of World War II, the mansion was set on fire, but the elegant ruins that endured perpetuate their tragic relationship.
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
El Nido, Philippines

El Nido, Palawan: The Last Philippine Frontier

One of the most fascinating seascapes in the world, the vastness of the rugged islets of Bacuit hides gaudy coral reefs, small beaches and idyllic lagoons. To discover it, just one fart.
Hungduan, Philippines

Country Style Philippines

The GI's left with the end of World War II, but the music from the interior of the USA that they heard still enlivens the Cordillera de Luzon. It's by tricycle and at your own pace that we visit the Hungduan rice terraces.
Philippines

The Philippine Road Lords

With the end of World War II, the Filipinos transformed thousands of abandoned American jeeps and created the national transportation system. Today, the exuberant jeepneys are for the curves.
Tokyo, Japan

Pachinko: The Video - Addiction That Depresses Japan

It started as a toy, but the Japanese appetite for profit quickly turned pachinko into a national obsession. Today, there are 30 million Japanese surrendered to these alienating gaming machines.
Bohol, Philippines

Other-wordly Philippines

The Philippine archipelago spans 300.000 km² of the Pacific Ocean. Part of the Visayas sub-archipelago, Bohol is home to small alien-looking primates and the extraterrestrial hills of the Chocolate Hills.
Campeche, Mexico

200 Years of Playing with Luck

At the end of the XNUMXth century, the peasants surrendered to a game introduced to cool the fever of cash cards. Today, played almost only for Abuelites, lottery little more than a fun place.
Mactan, Cebu, Philippines

Magellan's Quagmire

Almost 19 months of pioneering and troubled navigation around the world had elapsed when the Portuguese explorer made the mistake of his life. In the Philippines, the executioner Datu Lapu Lapu preserves the honors of a hero. In Mactan, his tanned statue with a tribal superhero look overlaps the mangrove swamp of tragedy.
Boracay, Philippines

The Philippine Beach of All Dreams

It was revealed by Western backpackers and the film crew of “Thus Heroes are Born”. Hundreds of resorts and thousands of eastern vacationers followed, whiter than the chalky sand.
Vigan, Philippines

Vigan: the Most Hispanic of Asias

The Spanish settlers left but their mansions are intact and the Kalesas circulate. When Oliver Stone was looking for Mexican sets for "Born on the 4th of July" he found them in this ciudad fernandina
Marinduque, Philippines

When the Romans Invade the Philippines

Even the Eastern Empire didn't get that far. In Holy Week, thousands of centurions seize Marinduque. There, the last days of Longinus, a legionary converted to Christianity, are re-enacted.
Marinduque, Philippines

The Philippine Passion of Christ

No nation around is Catholic but many Filipinos are not intimidated. In Holy Week, they surrender to the belief inherited from the Spanish colonists. Self-flagellation becomes a bloody test of faith
Coron, Busuanga, Philippines

The Secret but Sunken Japanese Armada

In World War II, a Japanese fleet failed to hide off Busuanga and was sunk by US planes. Today, its underwater wreckage attract thousands of divers.
Batad, Philippines

The Terraces that Sustain the Philippines

Over 2000 years ago, inspired by their rice god, the Ifugao people tore apart the slopes of Luzon. The cereal that the indigenous people grow there still nourishes a significant part of the country.
Bacolod, Philippines

Sweet Philippines

Bacolod is the capital of Negros, the island at the center of Philippine sugar cane production. Traveling through the Far East and between history and contemporaneity, we savor the fascinating heart of the most Latin of Asia.
Iloilo, Philippines

The Most Loyal and Noble City of the Philippines

In 1566, the Spanish founded Iloilo in the south of the island of Panay and, until the XNUMXth century, it was the capital of the vast Spanish East Indies. Although it has been Philippine for almost one hundred and thirty years, Iloilo remains one of the most Hispanic cities in Asia.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
safari
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
Mount Lamjung Kailas Himal, Nepal, altitude sickness, mountain prevent treat, travel
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
Engravings, Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt
Architecture & Design
luxor, Egypt

From Luxor to Thebes: Journey to Ancient Egypt

Thebes was raised as the new supreme capital of the Egyptian Empire, the seat of Amon, the God of Gods. Modern Luxor inherited the Temple of Karnak and its sumptuousness. Between one and the other flow the sacred Nile and millennia of dazzling history.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Aventura
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
Ceremonies and Festivities
Apia, Western Samoa

Fia Fia – High Rotation Polynesian Folklore

From New Zealand to Easter Island and from here to Hawaii, there are many variations of Polynesian dances. Fia Fia's Samoan nights, in particular, are enlivened by one of the more fast-paced styles.
on Stage, Antigua, Guatemala
Cities
four days in Antigua, Guatemala

Hispanic Guatemala, the Antigua Fashion

In 1743, several earthquakes razed one of the most charming pioneer colonial cities in the Americas. Antigua has regenerated but preserves the religiosity and drama of its epic-tragic past.
Beverage Machines, Japan
Lunch time
Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire

There are more than 5 million ultra-tech light boxes spread across the country and many more exuberant cans and bottles of appealing drinks. The Japanese have long since stopped resisting them.
Saphire Cabin, Purikura, Tokyo, Japan
Culture
Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Style Passaport-Type Photography

In the late 80s, two Japanese multinationals already saw conventional photo booths as museum pieces. They turned them into revolutionary machines and Japan surrendered to the Purikura phenomenon.
4th of July Fireworks-Seward, Alaska, United States
Sport
Seward, Alaska

The Longest 4th of July

The independence of the United States is celebrated, in Seward, Alaska, in a modest way. Even so, the 4th of July and its celebration seem to have no end.
Hikers on the Ice Lake Trail, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Traveling
Annapurna Circuit: 7th - Braga - Ice Lake, Nepal

Annapurna Circuit – The Painful Acclimatization of the Ice Lake

On the way up to the Ghyaru village, we had a first and unexpected show of how ecstatic the Annapurna Circuit can be tasted. Nine kilometers later, in Braga, due to the need to acclimatize, we climbed from 3.470m from Braga to 4.600m from Lake Kicho Tal. We only felt some expected tiredness and the increase in the wonder of the Annapurna Mountains.
Resident of Nzulezu, Ghana
Ethnic
Nzulezu, Ghana

A Village Afloat in Ghana

We depart from the seaside resort of Busua, to the far west of the Atlantic coast of Ghana. At Beyin, we veered north towards Lake Amansuri. There we find Nzulezu, one of the oldest and most genuine lake settlements in West Africa.
Portfolio, Got2Globe, Best Images, Photography, Images, Cleopatra, Dioscorides, Delos, Greece
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

The Earthly and the Celestial

Residents of Iloilo in front of one of its many churches
History
Iloilo, Philippines

The Most Loyal and Noble City of the Philippines

In 1566, the Spanish founded Iloilo in the south of the island of Panay and, until the XNUMXth century, it was the capital of the vast Spanish East Indies. Although it has been Philippine for almost one hundred and thirty years, Iloilo remains one of the most Hispanic cities in Asia.
EVIL(E)divas
Islands
Male Maldives

The Maldives For Real

Seen from the air, Malé, the capital of the Maldives, looks little more than a sample of a crammed island. Those who visit it will not find lying coconut trees, dream beaches, spas or infinite pools. Be dazzled by the genuine Maldivian everyday life that tourist brochures omit.
Geothermal, Iceland Heat, Ice Land, Geothermal, Blue Lagoon
Winter White
Iceland

The Geothermal Coziness of the Ice Island

Most visitors value Iceland's volcanic scenery for its beauty. Icelanders also draw from them heat and energy crucial to the life they lead to the Arctic gates.
Almada Negreiros, Roça Saudade, Sao Tome
Literature
Saudade, São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe

Almada Negreiros: From Saudade to Eternity

Almada Negreiros was born in April 1893, on a farm in the interior of São Tomé. Upon discovering his origins, we believe that the luxuriant exuberance in which he began to grow oxygenated his fruitful creativity.
Horses under a snow, Iceland Never Ending Snow Island Fire
Nature
Husavik a Myvatn, Iceland

Endless Snow on the Island of Fire

When, in mid-May, Iceland already enjoys some sun warmth but the cold and snow persist, the inhabitants give in to an intriguing summer anxiety.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Aerial view of Malolotja waterfalls.
Natural Parks
Malolotja Nature Reserve, Eswatini

Malolotja: the River, the waterfalls and the Grandiose Nature Reserve

A mere 32km northeast of the capital Mbabane, close to the border with South Africa, we ascend into the rugged, showy highlands of eSwatini. The Malolotja River flows there as the waterfalls of the same name, the highest in the Kingdom. Herds of zebras and antelopes roam the surrounding pastures and forests, in one of the most biodiverse reserves in southern Africa.  
Kirkjubour, Streymoy, Faroe Islands
UNESCO World Heritage
Kirkjubour, streymoy, Faroe Islands

Where the Faroese Christianity Washed Ashore

A mere year into the first millennium, a Viking missionary named Sigmundur Brestisson brought the Christian faith to the Faroe Islands. Kirkjubour became the shelter and episcopal seat of the new religion.
female and cub, grizzly footsteps, katmai national park, alaska
Characters
PN Katmai, Alaska

In the Footsteps of the Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell spent summers on end with the bears of Katmai. Traveling through Alaska, we followed some of its trails, but unlike the species' crazy protector, we never went too far.
Daytona Beach Portico, most famous beach of the year, Florida
Beaches
Daytona Beach, Florida, United States

The so-called World's Most Famous Beach

If its notoriety comes mainly from NASCAR races, in Daytona Beach, we find a peculiar seaside resort and a vast and compact beach that, in times past, was used for car speed tests.
Casario, uptown, Fianarantsoa, ​​Madagascar
Religion
Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

The Malagasy City of Good Education

Fianarantsoa was founded in 1831 by Ranavalona Iª, a queen of the then predominant Merina ethnic group. Ranavalona Iª was seen by European contemporaries as isolationist, tyrant and cruel. The monarch's reputation aside, when we enter it, its old southern capital remains as the academic, intellectual and religious center of Madagascar.
Train Kuranda train, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
On Rails
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

Built out of Cairns to save miners isolated in the rainforest from starvation by flooding, the Kuranda Railway eventually became the livelihood of hundreds of alternative Aussies.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Society
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
herd, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina
Daily life
Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak

The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.
Juvenile lions on a sandy arm of the Shire River
Wildlife
Liwonde National Park, Malawi

The Prodigious Resuscitation of Liwonde NP

For a long time, widespread neglect and widespread poaching had plagued this wildlife reserve. In 2015, African Parks stepped in. Soon, also benefiting from the abundant water of Lake Malombe and the Shire River, Liwonde National Park became one of the most vibrant and lush parks in Malawi.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.