In Lula's home state, Brazilian rodeo riders lean left
Issued on: 18/10/2022 - 04:13
Modified: 18/10/2022 - 04:11
5 min
Cabrobó (Brazil) (AFP) – Brazil's powerful agribusiness industry may back far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, but at the "Grab the Bull Bush Rodeo" in runoff rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's home state, the death-defying cowboys love the leftist ex-president.
Northeastern Brazil's harsh, semi-arid Sertao region is the birthplace of this unique rodeo tradition, in which cowhands on horseback chase a charging bull through thick, cactus-strewn scrubland, racing to grab a leather tag from around his neck.
One at a time, hundreds of bulls are released from a narrow pen, charging into the bush as two-person teams give chase. The winner is the team that returns their tag to the starting line fastest -- sometimes sprinting on foot, for those who fall off their horses.
Bleeding from his left eyelid, cowboy Jose Vasconcelos looks like he just had a near-death experience as he strips off the heavy, head-to-toe leather get-up riders wear for protection.
But even though he failed to catch his bull, he is beaming.
More:
https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20221018-in-lula-s-home-state-brazilian-rodeo-riders-lean-left