Overheard is our series of snippets/conversations that we have with other travelers and/or locals along the way.
We could hear the roar of cheers as we drove by the Cockpit.
"Is it Sunday?" I asked Rob.
He looked at his watch.
"Yeah," he said. "Why?"
"There's a cockfight going on in there," I said, motioning to the "arena."
Cockfighting is a big deal in the Philippines, so much so that the best "cocks" are imported all the way from Texas and go for us much as 20,000P (~US$ 500). The owners of prize cocks encourage them to exhibit aggressive behavior and train them to fight by practicing exercises that involve jumping over obstacles. Such training makes it easier for the cock to overtake his opponent from the air, beating him with his wings until he succumbs to defeat.
During the fights, each cock has a small weapon, similar to a knife blade, tied to one of his legs. Once the fight begins, the cocks go at each other with the weapon, trying to either kill their opponent or force him to run off.
The fight only ends when one animal has either run away or died.
Cockfights are most often on Sunday (the same day the majority of Filipinos go to church) and are accompanied by lots of booze, pimps, and prostitutes. Prize fights have as much as 100,000P bet on them, making the owner of the prize cock a rich cock-loving man indeed.
More Philippines
Interested in reading more about the Philippines on a budget? Check out our Philippines destination pages.
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