Culture

Forget Matadors, These Guys Wrestle Bulls With Their Bare Hands

by admin

As reported on Wired.

  • BY JAKOB SCHILLER

 

Portugal does bullfighting a little differently than everyone else. Instead of a matador facing the bull head-on, a cavaleiro fights the bull from atop a horse. And instead of a bloody duel to the death, the cavaleiroleaves the vanquished bull to a group of men called forcados, who wrestle the animal to the ground.

These men so intrigue Portuguese photographer Eduardo Leal that he spent months following a group of forcados from the city of Évora.

“I was never really into bullfighting because it’s cruel to the animal, but ever since I was a kid I’d had a fascination with these men,” says Leal.

The story is a bit of a homecoming for the 33-year-old photographer, who spent the past decade chasing stories abroad. He decided his next project would focus on a topic that would allow him to explore his own history.

“I started to realize I knew more about other countries than my own,” he says. “It was a way to go back to my roots.”

Most forcado teams have around 40 members, but only 18 or so suit up for a fight. Of those, only eight are in the ring at any given time. The captain of the team studies the three bulls his men will face in each event and, based upon each animal decides which men are best suited to face each bull.

Once in the ring, each forcado has a specific position to fill and role to play. The front man gets the bull to charge. Once the bull (which has its horns capped) comes toward him, his job is to jump onto its head and hold on for a long as it takes to get the bull to settle down. Obviously this can be difficult, so six other forcados are tasked with keeping the front man from falling off. The eighth man, or rabejador, is supposed to hold onto the bull’s tail. This distracts the bull, but also keeps it from charging into a fence and smashing the forcado atop its head. If the front man falls off, he must climb back on and continue his attempt to subdue the bull. He is allowed to leave only if injured.

‘If everything works, the bull usually calms down in a minute or even less’ 

— Eduardo Leal

“If everything works, the bull usually calms down in a minute or even less,” Leal says.

Compared to the cavaleiro, who is the star of the show, Leal says the forcados are the grunts of the bullfight hierarchy. A cavaleiromight earn thousands of euros per fight, whereas each team of forcados split just a couple hundred.

“They are just normal guys who have regular jobs outside of their role as a forcados,” he says.

For the forcados, however, the job is not to be looked down upon. It’s a tradition passed down from generation to generation, and each team is often like a family. It’s less about money, and more about history and camaraderie.

“The forcados use the money they make to pay for insurance because of the injuries, but most importantly it’s for a giant dinner for the 40 guys and their families where they celebrate the performance,” he says.

Leal’s story is ongoing. He’s spent plenty of time photographing the forcados in action, but wants to spend more time exploring the edges of the tradition. He’s met some of the younger people training to beforcados, but would like to follow a couple through the process. There’s also all the partying and merry-making that happens before and after the fights.

And the newest development is an all-women’s team of forcados. Leal says women making their way into the ring has angered some traditionalists, but others have welcomed them. Leal hopes to spend time with some of the women during the upcoming season.

“There is still a lot more to cover,” he says.