Quarter III     Moita - Bull Runs

Largada de Touros (Run-of-the-Bulls) is an ancient Portuguese tradition in the regions connected to bulls and Touradas, mainly Ribatejo and Alentejo.

In the Largadas a number of bulls are released on a street crowded with people trying to avoid their charges. In there, the people that failed to fulfil their ambition to be a famous Toureiro or a Forcado (the people that subjugate the bull by hand at the end of a Portuguese Tourada), exteriorise their dreams, sometimes with disastrous results.

If we ignore for a while the fact that the bull does not want to be there, it is hilarious to see the shenanigans going on everywhere. At Moita, the main avenue was divided in three sections and one bull released in each. A mortar shot is used to warn the people on the street that the bull has been released and the sudden excitement running through the sea of people is contagious. I immersed myself in this sea of people and always keeping an eye on the bull, tried to capture as many scenes as possible to transmit to you what I saw. I created a bit of a confusion when, running from the bull into a protected barrier, stopped at the entrance to get one last shot of the action. Suddenly I was railroaded by a multitude of people trying to escape through the same barrier and shouting at me – “this is not to take photos, you silly!!!!”

On the first day, one of the Largadas takes place at one e o’clock in the morning!!! Lots of people are already “under the weather” and the bull finds difficult to see what is going on. We saw one guy getting caught by the bull and would probably be killed if was not for the courage of one of revellers that grabbed the tail of the bull and attracted it away from the poor fellow already unconscious on the floor. While the bull chased the “tail grabber” and others trying to distract the animal, lots of people grabbed the poor “would be toureiro” and handed him over to the medical teams on stand-bye.

On the last Largada I managed to claim a ladder placed against a tree and from there video the actions. My cousin Catarina joined me and we had some exciting moments when, a couple of times, the bull charged passed under our ladder. This close call will be shown in the video page.

After the Largadas we had lots of fun walking around the area nibbling at the traditional delicacies and talking with hundreds of people that know my family. My cousin Zé in particular kissed all the ladies we passed by, and obviously being a good mannered person, I felt obliged to do the same. The festivities ended with a parade with floats, bands and fireworks