Cockfight!

Don’t worry – this isn’t a video of roosters getting killed



The red rooster, the one held by the handler with the multicolored vest, was killed a couple minutes after I shot this video. What you can see wasn’t part of the actual fight but a pre-match agitation, a handler strategy to make the roosters more aggressive. The guy with the striped blue shirt repeated the confrontation with the other rooster (not shown), feinting and pecking and advancing and retreating.

Last Thursday was my first palenque (cockfight)


I was pretty excited about the experience, not for the thrill of watching animals slash each other’s throats, but for the cultural weight of a tradition I’d never witnessed and the fact that it’s illegal in the States.

The experience definitely left me with conflicting feelings. Yes, it was interesting and kind of exciting. On the other hand, it’s kind of deplorable to set animals upon each other, gladiator style, justifying the practice because they’re animals. Bullfights are kind of in the same category – dress it up as valiant or exciting or glamorous or traditional, but when it’s over there are pools of blood in the dirt and something died a nasty, unnatural death. Look at the knives (nebajas) they strap on the roosters’ feet.


I doubt I’d voluntarily attend another palenque – I mean, I’m glad I’ve seen one, crossed it off the list, and now know what they’re all about, but it’s sort of gratuitous. Like, “do we really need to keep killing these roosters guys? If it’s about the gambling, can’t we just play bingo?”

(note – bingo (loteria) is actually really popular here)

This picture sums it up for me – one man is covered in rooster blood, and the other man is figuring out how much he’s gonna bet.


I saw one guy win 600 quetzales in a single match, which points to another less-than-admirable aspect of cockfighting – it’s a rich man’s game. At the same time, I can’t be totally condescending and pretend like I didn’t gamble at least once (I won a couple of sodas)