cockfight!

This weekend I went to Jalapa, Jalapa, the land of Jalapeños, oh sorry, the people are called Jalapenecos, not jalapeños. This is really the wild wild east, where people walk around with cowboy hats, boots, big belt buckles, one gun or two (one on each side) on the waist, and make shrill ayayayayay sounds when listening to ranchera music. There are two volunteers living out there, and they invited us out to watch a cockfight. I knew absolutely nothing about cockfights except imagining 2 chickens fighting each other and random Guatemalans cheering them on. I wasn't very far from the truth. It was definitely an adventure, and I enjoyed the overall experience of leaving my site and seeing a new place, but I prolly won't be watching another one!.

Getting to Luke's House
- I arrived there with Michelle and Yvonne, and Luke told me over the phone, just go past the hospital for two blocks and I live there. You'll see me outside.
- Two blocks later, we didn´t see him so I called again. Sorry bro, I said 2 blocks but it´s really another two blocks, and I´ll be waiting for ya.
- A total of 6 blocks from the hospital, we saw Luke. Wonder how long he´s been in country? He´s been here for almost 2 years, finishing his service later this year. He´s already giving directions like a Guatemalan!

The Cockfight
Setting
Anyways the cockfights took place in a covered circular arena with circular bleachers around it. As the Guatemalans gathered round with their beers and with their wads of Q100 bills, I quickly realized these weren't your average Guatemalans. These Guatemalans had some mula! Just soaking in the whole experience was interesting. Most bets were just between 2 people sitting down in the crowd. Sometimes a guy would walk around asking someone for Q200 or more (~$30 or so) to make a large group bet. And most would bet on every match.

Rules of the Game
Disclaimer: I still don't know the rules perfectly, so if some of you reading this are some kind of cockfight expert, this is just what I got from watching and asking random fans sitting near us.
1) 15 minute matches with 1 minute rounds between 2 chickens
2) Ref counts to ten when a chicken goes down
3) The match continues until one dies, the owner/trainer quits (pretty much dead), or the 15 minutes are up and then it is a tie.
4) Ref measures sharp metal hook attached to one leg of each rooster

The owners/trainers use different tactics to agitate the fighing cocks before fighting. What's really interesting, the rooster's feathers stick out to the sides around their necks when they're about to fight, like they are going SSJ2 or something. The bell rings and they go at it. They use their beaks and their feet to fight, don't forget about the sharp metal hook on one leg. I preferred watching the multicolored chickens rather than the plain white ones, as they do look nicer, and, well they just tend to hide their injuries a little better. The guy who let us in was winning most matches he played. Later during another trip to the beer/food stand, he came by, and we asked him what they did to prepare their chickens. The galleros, or the rooster guys, give the roosters steroids, special food, and train/practice their roosters how to fight. Each of these roosters are worth between $100-$200. A couple of the guys wanted to bet on this guy, since he was always winning. So they asked him. He said he'd let them know when would be a good match to bet. Both times these guys bet, his rooster lost in a matter of seconds. They lost around $30, which is A LOT to volunteers. Wonder if it was rigged.

After leaving that evening, we spent the rest of the evening at Luke's house chilling. I learned what a cannonball is - shot of coke followed by chaser of rum. Once given to you, you do your cannonball and pass it on to someone else. This is pretty much the way the night went, and I wasn't hungover today :)

You can see the rest of the pictures here!