Bull Fighting in Terceira

I was face to face with half a ton of solid muscle. The bull was staring straight into my eyes. black hide glistening with sweat, a powerful torso ready to trample. Suddenly, a young man appears on its side, grabbing the bull’s horns in a daring act of bravura. As the man darts in small circles, his hand on the horns, the beast erupts with frustration. The jester releases and bolts quickly over a low protective wall. The bull has been defeated and the crowd roars its approval.

Each summer, Terceira—one of the nine islands that make up the Azores—hosts a celebration of its bullfighting tradition. Animal rights activists might condemn the practice, but for the people of Terceira, it’s an important and beloved cultural tradition. (And unlike its Mexican or spanish counter-parts, Portuguese bullfighting does not involve killing the animal.) The St. John Festival or sanjoaninas draws thousands of tourists to the island’s capital, Angra do Heroísmo, where there are nightly parades, carnivals and a variety of bullfights. I’ve come, not to watch, but to participate. But on the night i arrived in Terceira, I happened to catch yesterday’s bullfight on the news. A young man had slipped during his horn grab, and the bull, well, the bull took mere seconds to pummel him to death. Suddenly, I have second (then third and fourth) thoughts.

The highlight of Terceira’s bullfight festival is touradas à corda (literally, bull-fighting on a rope) in which several men hold back the bull with a long, thick rope as it charges up a street packed with the brave. Over a few hours on a rainy after-noon, i watch several bulls race into the crowd, dragging their rope-men like rottweilers held back by dental floss. Thousands of spectators line a barricaded road cheering on those that taunt the bull by running in circles, or confusing it with umbrellas and coats. Usually they dart to safety, but every year, someone inevitably winds up as a statistic on the news.

Angra do Heroísmo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates back to 1534, and over the centuries, the town has seen its share of thrillseeking buccaneers and bloodthirsty pirates. Located in the north Atlantic, roughly 1,500 kilometres off the Portuguese mainland and about 4,000 kilometres from north America, the Azores have long served as a vital shipping post, tugged back and forth between sparring empires. Today, brightly painted churches overlook cobblestone squares, and Terceira’s fertile farmland, divided by ancient stone walls, looks like a checkerboard of rolling green hills.

But I’m here for the bulls. With the explosion of a firecracker, the crowd is warned that a bull has been released. A feverish excitement ripples up the street and, within moments, men and young boys are racing past me away from the oncoming beast. Only the brave, the experienced and the crazy dare get close enough to flaunt their tricks. And then there’s me.

I was forewarned to be mindful of the moving rope, which could easily trip me up and make me an easy bull’s eye for the raging brute. inching cautiously to the inner circle, i can see the bull’s horns ceremoniously covered in ornaments. The creature is bewildered. I can’t help but feel pity for it, the innocent victim of a tradition where men are challenged to prove their courage against a living symbol of strength, power and virility. It’s not until too late that i realize i’ve somehow managed to corner myself against a row of large cargo containers, set up as barricades and makeshift stands for the crowds above. The bull turns toward me, snorts, considers its options. If I don’t do something quick i’m hamburger meat. I break into a sprint, the bull snaps its head in my direction, the long rope coiling around its neck. I leap over the rope, running for my life. The bull, fortunately, becomes distracted with a local man and his red umbrella.

I’ve learned my lesson—and I definitely got my thrill.

If You Go:

For travellers looking to test their courage, or simply enjoy the celebration, a visit to Terceira in the summer is a bull’s-eye adventure. Portuguese bullfighting in arenas, on beaches and on the streets takes place in Angra do Heroísmo throughout the summer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Thrill Seeker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site. Add to del.icio.us.