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.
hippopotami, chobe national park, botswana
Safari
Chobe NP, Botswana

Chobe: A River on the Border of Life with Death

Chobe marks the divide between Botswana and three of its neighboring countries, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. But its capricious bed has a far more crucial function than this political delimitation.
Prayer flags in Ghyaru, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 4th – Upper Banana to Ngawal, Nepal

From Nightmare to Dazzle

Unbeknownst to us, we are faced with an ascent that leads us to despair. We pulled our strength as far as possible and reached Ghyaru where we felt closer than ever to the Annapurnas. The rest of the way to Ngawal felt like a kind of extension of the reward.
Alaskan Lumberjack Show Competition, Ketchikan, Alaska, USA
Architecture & Design
Ketchikan, Alaska

Here begins Alaska

The reality goes unnoticed in most of the world, but there are two Alaskas. In urban terms, the state is inaugurated in the south of its hidden frying pan handle, a strip of land separated from the contiguous USA along the west coast of Canada. Ketchikan, is the southernmost of Alaskan cities, its Rain Capital and the Salmon Capital of the World.
The small lighthouse at Kallur, highlighted in the capricious northern relief of the island of Kalsoy.
Adventure
Kalsoy, Faroe Islands

A Lighthouse at the End of the Faroese World

Kalsoy is one of the most isolated islands in the Faroe archipelago. Also known as “the flute” due to its long shape and the many tunnels that serve it, a mere 75 inhabitants inhabit it. Much less than the outsiders who visit it every year, attracted by the boreal wonder of its Kallur lighthouse.
Ceremonies and Festivities
Military

Defenders of Their Homelands

Even in times of peace, we detect military personnel everywhere. On duty, in cities, they fulfill routine missions that require rigor and patience.
Museum of Petroleum, Stavanger, Norway
Cities
Stavanger, Norway

The Motor City of Norway

The abundance of offshore oil and natural gas and the headquarters of the companies in charge of exploiting them have promoted Stavanger from the Norwegian energy capital preserve. Even so, this city didn't conform. With a prolific historical legacy, at the gates of a majestic fjord, cosmopolitan Stavanger has long propelled the Land of the Midnight Sun.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Meal
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Sun and coconut trees, São Nicolau, Cape Verde
Culture
São Nicolau, Cape Verde

São Nicolau: Pilgrimage to Terra di Sodade

Forced matches like those that inspired the famous morna “soda” made the pain of having to leave the islands of Cape Verde very strong. Discovering saninclau, between enchantment and wonder, we pursue the genesis of song and melancholy.
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.
Gothic couple
Traveling

Matarraña to Alcanar, Spain (España)

A Medieval Spain

Traveling through the lands of Aragon and Valencia, we come across towers and detached battlements of houses that fill the slopes. Mile after kilometer, these visions prove to be as anachronistic as they are fascinating.

Train Fianarantsoa to Manakara, Malagasy TGV, locomotive
Ethnic
Fianarantsoa-Manakara, Madagascar

On board the Malagasy TGV

We depart Fianarantsoa at 7a.m. It wasn't until 3am the following morning that we completed the 170km to Manakara. The natives call this almost secular train Train Great Vibrations. During the long journey, we felt, very strongly, those of the heart of Madagascar.
View of Fa Island, Tonga, Last Polynesian Monarchy
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Exotic Signs of Life

Figure at Praia do Curral, Ilhabela, Brazil
History
Ilhabela, Brazil

Ilhabela: After Horror, the Atlantic Beauty

Ninety percent of the preserved Atlantic Forest, idyllic waterfalls and gentle, wild beaches live up to the name. But, if we go back in time, we also reveal the horrific historical facet of Ilhabela.
North Island, New Zealand, Maori, Surfing time
Islands
North Island, New Zealand

Journey along the Path of Maority

New Zealand is one of the countries where the descendants of settlers and natives most respect each other. As we explored its northern island, we became aware of the interethnic maturation of this very old nation. Commonwealth as Maori and Polynesia.
Horses under a snow, Iceland Never Ending Snow Island Fire
Winter White
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.
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.
Fisherman maneuvers boat near Bonete Beach, Ilhabela, Brazil
Nature
Ilhabela, Brazil

In Ilhabela, on the way to Bonete

A community of caiçaras descendants of pirates founded a village in a corner of Ilhabela. Despite the difficult access, Bonete was discovered and considered one of the ten best beaches in Brazil.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Rancho Salto Yanigua, Dominican Republic, mining stones
Natural Parks
Montana Redonda and Rancho Salto Yanigua, Dominican Republic

From Montaña Redonda to Rancho Salto Yanigua

Discovering the Dominican northwest, we ascend to the Montaña Redonda de Miches, recently transformed into an unusual peak of escape. From the top, we point to Bahia de Samaná and Los Haitises, passing through the picturesque Salto Yanigua ranch.
Itamaraty Palace Staircase, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil
UNESCO World Heritage
Brasilia, Brazil

Brasília: from Utopia to the Capital and Political Arena of Brazil

Since the days of the Marquis of Pombal, there has been talk of transferring the capital to the interior. Today, the chimera city continues to look surreal but dictates the rules of Brazilian development.
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.
Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, Mme Moline popinée
Beaches
LifouLoyalty Islands

The Greatest of the Loyalties

Lifou is the island in the middle of the three that make up the semi-francophone archipelago off New Caledonia. In time, the Kanak natives will decide if they want their paradise independent of the distant metropolis.
Braga or Braka or Brakra in Nepal
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 6th – Braga, Nepal

The Ancient Nepal of Braga

Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
The Toy Train story
On Rails
Siliguri a Darjeeling, India

The Himalayan Toy Train Still Running

Neither the steep slope of some stretches nor the modernity stop it. From Siliguri, in the tropical foothills of the great Asian mountain range, the Darjeeling, with its peaks in sight, the most famous of the Indian Toy Trains has ensured for 117 years, day after day, an arduous dream journey. Traveling through the area, we climb aboard and let ourselves be enchanted.
Walter Peak, Queenstown, New Zealand
Society
New Zealand  

When Counting Sheep causes Sleep Loss

20 years ago, New Zealand had 18 sheep per inhabitant. For political and economic reasons, the average was halved. In the antipodes, many breeders are worried about their future.
the projectionist
Daily life
Sainte-Luce, Martinique

The Nostalgic Projectionist

From 1954 to 1983, Gérard Pierre screened many of the famous films arriving in Martinique. 30 years after the closing of the room in which he worked, it was still difficult for this nostalgic native to change his reel.
Lion, Elephants, PN Hwange, Zimbabwe
Wildlife
PN Hwange, Zimbabwe

The Legacy of the Late Cecil Lion

On July 1, 2015, Walter Palmer, a dentist and trophy hunter from Minnesota killed Cecil, Zimbabwe's most famous lion. The slaughter generated a viral wave of outrage. As we saw in PN Hwange, nearly two years later, Cecil's descendants thrive.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.
PT EN ES FR DE IT