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João Pedro Almeida
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on 15 Jun 2015
At HomePhotosProjects

Capeia Arraiana, the Bullfight of the border lands

10 Minutes Read

While me and Emanuele were deciding whether to go up North and photograph Braga’s Semana Santa I receive a message from him: “Why don’t we go to the Capeia?“. The Capeia he was mentioning is the Capeia Arraiana (link in Portuguese only), and until one year ago I had no idea what it was, I even had no idea there was bullfight tradition in that part of Portugal, an area in the North of the country and far away from the Tejo basin and Alentejo where bullfighting is ever present. After seeing his photos from the trip in the previous Summer with our friend Mitchell Kanashkevich I kept that very high in my list, and I guess Emanuele knew that when he sent me this challenge. And by looking at the calendar we quickly realized all the photography we wanted to do in Braga would be over by Holy Friday, which meant that, with a badly slept night, we could leave the end of the Semana Santa behind and drive south to catch the planned events for the weekend.

The Capeia is a very specific kind of bullfight that takes place in the villages of a small region in the upper Côa valley, close to the border of Spain. It begins with several horsemen (and a significant audience) gathering in the morning at one of the pastures around the village where the Capeia will take place, after a light snack the encerro starts: the bulls are surrounded and led to the arena, in what is one of the most eye-catching moments of the day, where they arrive in full speed, blazing through those who found the best spot to watch them pass by. At the arena, a small crowd is gathered, and for such a remote part of the country the diversity of languages is curious, with the legions of Spanish that enjoy a great bullfight (wherever that is) or the immigrants in France that return with the single purpose of attending it.

With the “procession’s” arrival, and just before lunch, the bulls are quickly trialed (Boi da prova), to test their temper and bravery in order to choose the best ones for the afternoon’s main event. Later, in the main event there’s one centerpiece: the forcão, a massive wooden frame build with tree logs, handled by twenty or more men, with carefully given roles within the structure: some support the weight, others handle it towards the bull, and there’s always someone giving directions. This goes on until sunset, several times during the event; outside the boundaries there’s are all the common elements of a sporting event: the beer, the fast food trailers or the ice-cream stand, but inside it’s eye to eye with the bull.

 

The road leading to pastures where bulls roam freely, the start of the encerro
FUJIFILM X-E2 (55mm, f/9, 1/750 sec, ISO200)
The road leading to pastures where bulls roam freely, the start of the encerro

 

The horsemen, and audience, gather for a morning meal at the pastures where the bulls roam, before the start of the Encerro
FUJIFILM X-E2 (18mm, f/4.5, 1/800 sec, ISO200)
The horsemen, and audience, gather for a morning meal at the pastures where the bulls roam, before the start of the Encerro

 

The horsemen, and audience, gather for a morning meal at the pastures where the bulls roam, before the start of the Encerro
FUJIFILM X-E2 (27.7mm, f/7.1, 1/400 sec, ISO200)
The horsemen, and audience, gather for a morning meal at the pastures where the bulls roam, before the start of the Encerro

 

The horsemen, and audience, gather for a morning meal at the pastures where the bulls roam, before the start of the Encerro
FUJIFILM X-E2 (44.4mm, f/10, 1/350 sec, ISO200)
The horsemen, and audience, gather for a morning meal at the pastures where the bulls roam, before the start of the Encerro

 

The horsemen, and audience, gather for a morning meal at the pastures where the bulls roam, before the start of the Encerro
FUJIFILM X-E2 (50.5mm, f/5.6, 1/340 sec, ISO200)
The horsemen, and audience, gather for a morning meal at the pastures where the bulls roam, before the start of the Encerro

 

The arena and the crowd waiting for the arrival of the horsemen with the bulls for the Capeia Arraiana
FUJIFILM X-E2 (18mm, f/6.4, 1/420 sec, ISO200)
The arena and the crowd waiting for the arrival of the horsemen with the bulls for the Capeia Arraiana

 

The arena and the crowd waiting for the arrival of the horsemen with the bulls for the Capeia Arraiana
FUJIFILM X-E2 (18mm, f/7.1, 1/350 sec, ISO200)
The arena and the crowd waiting for the arrival of the horsemen with the bulls for the Capeia Arraiana

 

Horsemen leading the bulls to the improvised arena at the village's main square
FUJIFILM X-E2 (18mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec, ISO200)
Horsemen leading the bulls to the improvised arena at the village’s main square

 

Horsemen leading the bulls to the main arena
NIKON D800 (200mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO200)
Horsemen leading the bulls to the main arena

 

The arrival and gathering of the bulls to the arena
FUJIFILM X-E2 (18mm, f/6.4, 1/750 sec, ISO200)
The arrival and gathering of the bulls to the arena

 

Trialing the bulls after they arrive to the arena
FUJIFILM X-E2 (39mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec, ISO200)
Trialing the bulls after they arrive to the arena

 

Trialing the bulls after they arrive to the arena
NIKON D800 (200mm, f/32, 1/50 sec, ISO200)
Trialing the bulls after they arrive to the arena

 

Trialing the bulls after they arrive to the arena
FUJIFILM X-E2 (18mm, f/5.6, 1/850 sec, ISO200)
Trialing the bulls after they arrive to the arena

 

Preparations of the forcão, the bug wooden frame, for the afternoon bullfight
FUJIFILM X-E2 (21.4mm, f/5.6, 1/1400 sec, ISO200)
Preparations of the forcão, the bug wooden frame, for the afternoon bullfight

 

Forcão, the big wooden fram used in Capeia Arraiana
NIKON D800 (70mm, f/4, 1/3200 sec, ISO800)
Forcão, the big wooden fram used in Capeia Arraiana

 

Crowd watching the bullfights
FUJIFILM X-E2 (18mm, f/5, 1/1700 sec, ISO200)
Crowd watching the bullfights

 

Young men "measuring" the bull's strength and bravery
NIKON D800 (200mm, f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO800)
Young men “measuring” the bull’s strength and bravery

 

Bullfight using a forcão, the wooden frame handled by a group of men
NIKON D800 (50mm, f/4.5, 1/8000 sec, ISO280)
Bullfight using a forcão, the wooden frame handled by a group of men

 

Bullfight using a forcão, the wooden frame handled by a group of men
NIKON D800 (180mm, f/8, 1/3200 sec, ISO800)
Bullfight using a forcão, the wooden frame handled by a group of men

 

Crowd watching the bullfights
NIKON D800 (50mm, f/8, 1/2500 sec, ISO800)
Crowd watching the bullfights

 

Browse the full set of photos from the Capeia Arraiana in my gallery

 

Tags: Beira Interior, bull, bullfight, capeia arraiana, encerro, forcão, Portugal, raia, sabugal
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Recent Posts

  • …And so did we 6 Nov 2022
  • Young Men’s Festival of Grijó de Parada 28 Dec 2021
  • No Man’s Land 6 Oct 2021

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Beira Interior
Portugal

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My passion for photography is driven by my passion for travel, either in remote locations or discovering hidden places in my country or my hometown, to discover who lives there, and all photos reflect my perspective from those wanderings.

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