Naic Cockpit, Philippines

First, let me start this off by saying that I am an animal lover and would never condone cockfighting in America. However, in the Philippines, cockfighting is legal and a huge pass time and tradition. My wife's uncle owns fighting cocks so he took me to the local cockpit in the city of Naic. My goal during this trip was to really immerse myself in the culture and I was told that you can't do that without attending a cockfight. In addition, my grandfather was well known in Havana for his prize winning cocks and I grew up hearing about it so I was really interested in seeing what it was like.

I decided to share a few photos here since this was a small journey in itself and this is probably not something most of you have seen. Well... here are my favorite photos of the trip with a brief narrative of the experience.

1 - This is where we sat. We were given the royal treatment... we entered the arena without paying the cover charge, were escorted up to the seats and were supplied with some nice plastic patio chairs. The gentleman that cares for my wife's uncles birds brought over an ice chest filled with San Miguel beer. It was odd to me that we were the only ones drinking. I later found out drinking alcoholic beverages is prohibited. I guess my wife's uncle is someone of a somebody in Naic ;-)



2 - Before each fight, there is a round of betting. The crowd completely erupts in screams as bet takers yell out odds and accept bets. Mind you, this is all done by memory. Somehow, the bet takers remember every person and exactly how they bet:



3 - The man next to us lost and was quickly asked to pay what he owed:



I only had my 11-16mm wide angle so I hesitantly asked if there was anyway I could get closer. Without pause, I was ushered all the way to the ring. On the way there, I snapped a few shots of what I saw.

4 - This is one of my wife's uncles birds with the handler waiting for his turn to fight:



5 - As we walked under the bleachers, I came across what looked to me like a "bullpen" of handlers with their birds. I assume they were waiting their turn to enter the ring:



6 - This guy was on deck. Although I tried really hard to keep my emotions aside, I couldn't help but feel bad for this poor bird:



7 - Sizing up the competition... this guy came over to intimidate the cock in the cage:



8 - Finally made it to the ring right as a match was to start. Before each match, the prospective fighters enter the ring with their birds. These two guys posed for me as they entered:



9 - They present the birds to one another to see if they are game to fight. Sometimes, the handler may choose not to fight his bird if they seem to be really outmatched or they show signs of submission. In this case, both birds were more than willing to battle:



10 - Vegas style, an MC announces the match just before it begins:



11 - Finally the match begins:



12 - And as quickly as it started, it ends. Most of the matches I saw lasted less than a minute. However, one fight went the time limit of 10 minutes, at which time a draw is announced:



I chose not to post any photos of cocks actually fighting and I also did not post any of the birds after the fight. It was a little hard to watch so I decided to spare you the grief.