Quote:
Originally posted by Hillbilly
Up there they have street fights with bull whips and beat the **** outta each other
|
To the eyes of the outsider it may seem that way, but the game has rules. Unlike the rest of the country where masked characters hit the public with soft ballons made with dried animal bladders, with the purpose of scaring the crowd, in Montecristi the crowd is never "attacked".
In Montecristi's carnival there are two characters who participate in these games:
Toros (Bulls) and
Civiles (Civilians). They fight with whips made with natural fibers, the whips sound scarier than they are dangerous, but they are dangerous nonetheless. The Bulls wear padded customes and masks with metal nets to protect the eyes. The Civilians fight with normal street wear and gogles. Some Civilians fight without their shirt and even without gogles as a proof of courage.
Quote:
Although the rules are not written, nor they constitute a law, the game among Toros y Civiles follows these rules:
* Each Bull fighs with approximately 5 Civilians. Some Bulls have fought with up to 10 Civilians, those were the "pros" of the game. Bulls never fight among themselves or in teams. Civilians never fight among themselves. (added by Pib)
* One must never turn the back on the opponent.
* When a Bull or a Civilian lose the whip he is automatically out of the game.
* If the Bull cannot continue the fight he will take off his mask and that will be the sign.
* When two opponents hug they are out of the game. There must never be body contact among fighters.
* If a combatant falls on the ground he is out of the game.
* If the whips tangle both combatants are out of the game.
* One must never attack an opponent that is momentarily unable to fight (lost the whip or something).
|
The link that I provided above is a website kept by Dr. Helena, a prominent lawyer in MC and an amateur historian. It is one of those rare cases that you find material on the internet that is not available on print. Unfortunately it is only in Spanish.
As Dr. Helena states in his website, outsiders may consider these games barbaric, but one has to remember not to be too judgemental about other people's cultures. And if we consider that Bull Fighting is still legal in Spain one can only think that at least Montecristi's Bulls make a choice of fighting.
Pib
Montecristeña at heart.
(10)
Carnival
. It is not the most colorful of carnivals but it is completelly different from the rest of the country. A little barbaric with a touch of violence makes for a different experience.
