The crowd screams as a raging bull bursts from a trapdoor and dashes down a gated track. Within seconds, a rider gallops alongside the beast, grabs its tail and yanks, sending the 136kg animal tumbling to the ground.
This rowdy competition called coleo is traditionally a display of machismo, but increasing numbers of women are showing their grit -- and horsemanship -- in the centuries-old sport that predominates in the sun-baked, cattle-ranching plains of central Venezuela.
During heats lasting five minutes, riders compete see who can tip the bull over the most times. All four hoofs must leave the ground for the coleada to count. Once the bull has been flipped over, competitors must quickly get the animal up and running again.
PHOTO: AP
When a bull refuses to rise, exasperated competitors often twist -- or bite -- the weary animal's tail to force it up. Electric cattle prods handled by attendants are sometimes employed to jar motionless bulls back into action. Injured animals are slaughtered.
Between competitions, spectators enjoy the country fair-type atmosphere, drinking cold beer while listening to joropo, Venezuelan folk music played with a cuatro, or four-string guitar, harp and maracas.
Coleo originated on ranches over two centuries ago as a means of capturing runaway cattle without a rope, and it is also practiced in parts of neighboring Colombia and Brazil.
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS