Bull Fighting in El Seibo

During the week of the Fiesta Patronale in El Siebo in the Eastern Region of DR during the first 10 days of May, bull fighting is the order of the day and the only place to see such an activity in the Caribbean.

The bulls are having the better so far:

Bull attacks a young man during a bullfight in El Seibo


This young man got tossed into the air as can be seen in the video in the news report above.

And then this off duty military guarrd for the local senator got gorred in the butt:

Military assigned to senator is injured in bullfights in El Seibo



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Ridiculous and wrong that this is allowed.
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Bull fighting in El Seibo was approved as a law this week by the Senate 'as cultural and intangible heritage of the Dominican Republic'.

It appears a bit like the very popular bull running in Pampanola, Spain every year but with the bull unleashed but in an arena with men running around it before the traditional bull fighters join in.

The bull is not killed in the bull fighting in El Seibo. There are no 'matadors'.

You can see the dressed up bullfighters from about 20 minutes onward in the attached video along with  chaos as the local young men get in the ring with the bull.


The off duty military officer mentioned in the opening post got well and truly tossed as the video clip below shows

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I Don't care if it's legal, it's disgusting!

That is my opinion and absolutely nothing you say or show me will change that.
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Great colourful video in this report this evening in Diario Libre showing why this is becoming an increasingly interesting attraction for locals and tourists. These guys in their bright costumes have to be really quick with just a red cloth to protect them from those massive bull horns.

I totally disagree, this is not disgusting, the bulls are not mistreated, there are no swords, there is no killing or bloodshed other than a spectator who might get injured, this is a spectacle of Dominican culture in a town in the east of the country known for it's cattle. Have you been to El Seibo which is one of the oldest towns in the Dominican Republic?

As guests, even if we do not agree, we should respect the culture of this country and this is one aspect that will attract tourists for certain.



Hundreds of people come to see bullfights in El Seibo


Hundreds of people came this Monday to enjoy the bullfights in the province of El Seibo , one of the main attractions of the patron saint festivities held every year in the month of May for 10 days.

The show, which takes place in a ring and consecrates the visits of national and foreign tourists, took place with great enthusiasm and in a festive atmosphere in which people enjoy the actions of the specimens.

Without mistreating the bull, the bullfighters with hoods in their hands, a striking suit and saying "olé", take several games out of the animals, causing the impression and applause of the public.

Mr. Emilio Peralta, who is a resident of the province of San Pedro de Macorís, arrived early at the barrier to enjoy bullfights with his family .

Peralta assured that he was invited by some friends who have always motivated him to attend such an "important" event that is for the Seibanos.

"This year we came to see and really the courage that these bullfighters have is incredible to enter the arena to try to take advantage of the bull and the good thing is that they do not mistreat each other"
Emilio Peralta
visitor
“

Altagracia de los Santos, another spectator who came from the province of Hato Mayor to watch the bullfights , said that it is a great event that many people should know about.

"This is something that only in other countries one thought was done and I saw it on television and this year I was motivated to come and be part of the traditions of the province of El Seibo ," he said.

The famous bullfights are a tradition of more than 300 years, which to date continues to please the spectators. In addition, they are unique in the Antilles.

The event is organized by the Brotherhood of Fervorosos de la Santísima Cruz, as part of a deep-rooted tradition, inherited from the Spanish occupation.


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Yes, Dominican cowboys too. You see them in the campo especially at the 'patronales' on the cattle rearing parts of the country.


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Ridiculous and wrong that this is allowed.
- @planner

I don't mind the bits where the bull wins one, but the rest is vicious stupidity.

Legal it may be, a sport for evil morons it is.
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.I totally disagree, this is not disgusting, the bulls are not mistreated,
- @lennoxnev

Would you like to enter an area with a lot of people chasing you around until you're as scared as you are confused?
Sticking the animal with what whatever weapons idiotic Spanish bull fighters do may not happen, but this is still pretty nasty abuse.

I'm not into animal rights, but I really object to people being vicious bastards for fun.
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@Fred

I am glad to learn there is no blood shed and I am not a fan of taunting any living creatures including insects.  This I will say, if you want to change minds then one must start with changing hearts. The language of peace and love really wins in the long run. Calling  spectators & participants names in its own way is a blood lust and that does not serve the goal of bringing this to an end.  Lead with love, the process always wins. Have a good day.
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@Fred

I am glad to learn there is no blood shed and I am not a fan of taunting any living creatures including insects.  This I will say, if you want to change minds then one must start with changing hearts. The language of peace and love really wins in the long run. Calling  spectators & participants names in its own way is a blood lust and that does not serve the goal of bringing this to an end.  Lead with love, the process always wins. Have a good day.
- @rfmaurone

No - I dislike stupidity and cruelty.


I watched this video of a set of drunks taunting an animal. All that bull wants is to be left alone - it tries to get away but is hounded by yet another moron until it attacks. Luckily, there is some blood spilt


Bit of tough - they deserve it.
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There is a phrase 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones'.

Fred from the Philippines can perhaps feel some justification in that non blood bullfighting is a hundred year old tradition in a part of that country and has been suspended since 2020.

Not so rfmaurone nor planner because you still have non blood bullfighting taking place in your native USA and Canada. And not to mention the popular bull riding.

I don't condone nor wish to see the traditional Spanish style bull fighting that is practiced in Spain, Portugal, Southern France, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru, but question why the fuss over the non blood sport versions found in Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Canada, India, USA and Tanzania.

A large part of Dominican culture derives from the Iberian peninsula, not least the language, yet we have a minority of expats wanting to live here and change century old cultural aspects that have derived from that region.

I think that is shocking.

To live in DR the expat must adapt. Not the other way around.

Thankfully bullfighting in El Seibo during their Saints festival (patronale) is going to be protected in law from people who want to interfere in centuries old culture.

And the new bull ring is under construction and the Ministry of Tourism backed by the President was there recently to ensure the project gets completed such that next year there will be a first rate venue for tourist to enjoy the bullfighting with locals.


The Minister of Tourism, David Collado, visited the province of El Seibo to announce that the long-awaited bullring will be completed.

“On behalf of the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, I am here to announce that this square is going to be held and that the Government is going to comply. The president told me not to stop visiting El Seibo today to give you this announcement and here we are,” Collado said............
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@Fred

I am glad to learn there is no blood shed and I am not a fan of taunting any living creatures including insects.  This I will say, if you want to change minds then one must start with changing hearts. The language of peace and love really wins in the long run. Calling  spectators & participants names in its own way is a blood lust and that does not serve the goal of bringing this to an end.  Lead with love, the process always wins. Have a good day.
- @rfmaurone

No - I dislike stupidity and cruelty.


I watched this video of a set of drunks taunting an animal. All that bull wants is to be left alone - it tries to get away but is hounded by yet another moron until it attacks. Luckily, there is some blood spilt


Bit of tough - they deserve it.
- @Fred

Fred,

The bull running in Pamplona Spain is a massive tourist attraction drawing visitors from all over the world paying big bucks where foolish young men try and run away from bulls rampaging through the narrow streets.


We live in a  time where there are plenty of men and women wanting to see combat sports without the controls and protection afforded by sport in the past. It is almost as though there is a wish by a large audience to go back to gladatorial times but not me. I prefer that long standing cultures be respected and understood and ignored if not to ones liking.

At least in El Seibo the formal part of the bullfighting is fair, reasonable and organized. The foolishness of macho males beforehand is to be expected in the Dominican Republic and has brought about the goring of two people so far this May. We must also remember that the patronale has been suspended for two years for covid reasons so there is a release of energy to be expected.


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Clearly you don't understand that what others do does not matter!!!!!  If you think this is ok, that's your choice.

I don't. Stop the "whataboutism" as it's NOT an argument of any substance!

I respect you in many many areas but not in this
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Clearly you don't understand that what others do does not matter!!!!!  If you think this is ok, that's your choice.

I don't. Stop the "whataboutism" as it's NOT an argument of any substance!

I respect you in many many areas but not in this
- @planner



Im from El Seibo, and this tradition comes from hundreds of years ago, the bulls never had been kill.   I understand and respect your opinion, wich Im sure its the same with the cock fights that are legal here too.
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Agreed. it is legal.  Thats it.
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I dont know of any bull fighting in Canada. Its illegal. We do have bull riding, where a cowboy tries to stay on the bull as long as possible, and then when he or she falls off, there are others that try to distract the bull so it does not kill the rider (cowboy/cowgirl).  We have cowboys in western Canada where we raise alot of high quality grass fed beef.

I agree that we need to respect century old traditions, but animal cruelty is wrong, and even worse if its for entertainment.

I think we could fix so many problems in this country with education.   Imagine if every child could have opportunity to earn a decent living after getting free secondary level education so you can become an engineer, a doctor, a dentist, nurse, electrician, a mechanic, a solar energy worker, technology specialist, programmer, lawyer, botanist, accountant, whatever, equal opportunity for boys and girls.   Imagine if it would be an honor to serve your country, to be a teacher or a police officer, and to be well paid.

So when the women get to earn their own money, they wont stay at home and they wont have a huge number of children.  Then the men wont suffer so much because they dont have such large families to take care of with their low salaries.  Now both men and women work and earn money.  Now there is less suffering and this means less need to get away with anything you can.  You wont feel so cheated or tempted to rob or steal or scam someone, when you see the gringos who have so much more than you.  Then you can make your money and still pay your taxes and there is a chance to have a good life. 

I believe that for the 90% of this population who is very poor, atleast half of them cannot relate to animal abuse because they cannot relate to abusing their own spouse, or the gringos like us.  From what I am learning here, they dont even know its wrong.
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@lennoxnev

Yes, we expats need to understand things are very different in this country, especially if your coming from one of the G7 countries.  I find it takes time to learn, and with all of your input here, we thank you for opening our eyes and ears, and keeping us safe!  We need to work within the limitations here, accept, and adapt to the situation here.  Or just go and be happy elsewhere.   
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Yer know when a man pitches a ball and the batter swings they both have an
Objective they both want to win , when two fighter's get in a ring and hit each other they both have an Objective to win…..when someone wrestle with a bear or wrestle with an an Alligator or wave's a flag at a bull ……maybe I missed something what's the point,🤔 is it that the men bothering the animals don't have the courage to face
another man in a competition , so they have to play with an  Animal that's kept in a
cage most of his life  , I don't condone it , don't agree w/it …just think I'll watch football 🏈
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Hello everyone,


Just a little reminder, you have the right to disagree on the same point like here about the bull fighting in El Seibo, but please keep in mind that you have to respect the opinions of others.

I can count on all of you. 1f609.svg

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team
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I disagreed on the issue of Vaccine effectiveness and natural immunity and was told by the "team" to keep my opinions to myself!  You're not always that "open" to contrary views.
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Dont go there. 
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As for cultural customs....



I'm, sure there are many of them in the world that people would disagree with



Don't even think about darkest Africa... or Haiti voodoo .....

Let bygones be bygones
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One might reasonably assert that bull fighting, while customary, points to a larger picture and that's this.

The DR is decades behind in cultural evolution.

On the surface, one would say the assertion is a conclusively negative but that's simply not true as assumes all that has transpired in evolving to a "modern culture" is all superior where in my mind it certainly is not.

But the obvious cannot be ignored. The DR is the oldest of European conquests and it has not prospered to a level that's even a shadow of what is western Europe or North America.  One could argue what prosper actually is.  However, modern living standards are sought by Dominicans just as they are in developed nations. The best question is why haven't they?
  • Some will blame western imperialism and while I can't argue for or against that theory,  the argument for is an almost entirely trite tactic used by those dismissing the achievements made from which they came: acting like spoiled adolescents who despise their parents.
  • Some will blame inability amongst the populace which might be construed as racist. And I can't argue either way on that. I seriously doubt it's lack of innate average ability of the populace.
Dominicans see modern living standards in North America and Europe and desire them but I'd bet money they haven't a clue how these living standards were acquired moreover why they don't have them. And I'm sure they want them now.  I do know Dominicans in the USA and they have told me adjusting to American work ethic and performance requirements is a difficult adjustment.  My limited exposure to Dominican work ethic isn't worth much comment but a Dominican businessman working out of Miami has told me my experience isn't uncommon and my experience showed me the work ethic being absolutely horrid.

But I'd assert it's cultural more than anything else. 

How that relates to bull and cock fighting I really don't know other than the culture affects the living standards there.
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Bull fighting is customary to the town of El Seibo during their 'patronale' in the first ten days of May. It is not customary to DR.

As for your statement about cultural evolution, let's not go down that road, because you are suggesting a unilinear theory of progressive cultural development over time which is considered be borne out of the United States and Western Europe and is seen by many to be racist. Imo we should not be comparing cultures and each should be assessed uniquely.

And for those of us that live here permanently as guests in DR, let's appreciate the differences and any part they may have played in the reasons for our expatriation from the places where we have come, rather than magnify faults at every opportunity.
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@lennoxnev I don't have to magnify the faults they do that themselves. I'd bet my net worth the vast majority of young Dominicans want to leave to the USA mostly since it's apparently easiest, but they'd go to Europe if they had the chance.  I'm not sure they'd like it in either place especially if they have no secondary education.  And this comes from knowing both educated and uneducated Dominicans across a considerable span in age but biased toward the young. Those who are successful there I know have educated their children and sent them to USA. The extremely backward economy is the reason for this. Foreign investment appears largely limited to real estate and real estate related industry.  They absolutely will not thrive as they desire without foreign investment from technologically advanced economies.

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Some 700,000 Dominicans live in USA. That's a sizeable percentage of their total. And it's not easy to come here. They can't walk across the border like those from other central American countries.
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The bull fighting in El Seibo is done for another year so nothing new to post in this thread now.
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@lennoxnev I was actually visiting Hato mayor del rey (beautiful town) when it was happening and heard of the spectacle, I've put it in my calendar to attend next year, and that is the value of such an event, just bringing visitors into the town justifies it for me. It really is strange that people want to get up and arms on an event featuring the same species of animal that get slaughtered by the millions each day for protein consumption... I agreed mostly with what you said, this country has its customs and they must be respected, and some even valued for the positive outcomes when warranted, and this is one of those cases. Thanks for sharing.

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