Saturday 24th June 2006: NICARAGUA: San Juan Del Sur: A Nicaraguan Rodeo
The 24th June is the day of the patron saint of San Juan which involves a procession, lots of partying and a rodeo!
Eric and some of his friends managed to secure some very special VIP seats (plastic patio chairs in the raised section) so off we went with a cooler full of rum and coke. With a great view we waited for the spectacle to begin.
This rodeo was unlike any Rodeo you've ever seen on TV; it's actually insane! It basically involved thirty or so extremely drunken Nicaraguan men standing in the middle of the arena awaiting the arrival of the bull. These bulls weighed in at roughly 500 to 750lbs of charging testosterone. When the gate flew open, out came this huge bull with a very intoxicated Nicaraguan clinging to its back! It was utter madness!!!! Once each rider was bucked from the bull (which is always PDQ!) the other drunken fools would then antagonise and goad the bull into chasing after them - idiots!!!
During one round a huge reddish bull pushed one crazy Nica man head first through the wooden fence to the right of our seats! This guy was very badly injured and in need of instant medical attention, unfortunatley for him he was simply picked up and taken away, a man at each arm and leg. Once the fence was fixed and the crowd had returned from staring at this poor injured man, the next round of madness started! Sadly, but not unexpectedly, a few people were hurt quite badly; we were told one may have died and another is in a coma.
Apparently fatalities happen almost every year and yet they still allow the Rodeo to continue. People treat this as a family day out. We'll admit that we were excited by the whole thing, but at the same time we've never seen such an event where there was such blatant disregard for personal saftey. It's as though the value of life is far cheaper than the need for entertainment.
This was a family day out you will never see back in the UK and one that we will never forget!
Eric and some of his friends managed to secure some very special VIP seats (plastic patio chairs in the raised section) so off we went with a cooler full of rum and coke. With a great view we waited for the spectacle to begin.
This rodeo was unlike any Rodeo you've ever seen on TV; it's actually insane! It basically involved thirty or so extremely drunken Nicaraguan men standing in the middle of the arena awaiting the arrival of the bull. These bulls weighed in at roughly 500 to 750lbs of charging testosterone. When the gate flew open, out came this huge bull with a very intoxicated Nicaraguan clinging to its back! It was utter madness!!!! Once each rider was bucked from the bull (which is always PDQ!) the other drunken fools would then antagonise and goad the bull into chasing after them - idiots!!!
During one round a huge reddish bull pushed one crazy Nica man head first through the wooden fence to the right of our seats! This guy was very badly injured and in need of instant medical attention, unfortunatley for him he was simply picked up and taken away, a man at each arm and leg. Once the fence was fixed and the crowd had returned from staring at this poor injured man, the next round of madness started! Sadly, but not unexpectedly, a few people were hurt quite badly; we were told one may have died and another is in a coma.
Apparently fatalities happen almost every year and yet they still allow the Rodeo to continue. People treat this as a family day out. We'll admit that we were excited by the whole thing, but at the same time we've never seen such an event where there was such blatant disregard for personal saftey. It's as though the value of life is far cheaper than the need for entertainment.
This was a family day out you will never see back in the UK and one that we will never forget!
The crazy rodeo men!
The Rodeo Party (Oliver, Arelis, JT, Pedro & Eric)
posted by Oliver and Celina Goodfellow @ 2:25 PM
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