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Cockfighting Travel: The Caribbean Capital of Combat

February 13, 2008 at 12:00 PM | 0 Comments

Cockfights are the kind of thing you can usually avoid, but if you're in the Dominican Republic, the matches might find you. The bouts may be gruesome, but they're a part of everyday life in much of the nation, especially in the countryside. And a handful of pro baseball players--including Pedro Martínez and Aramis Ramírez--controversially attend the fights when in their home country.

Cockfight clubs are the main venue for the sport, where seating galleries surround small rings with astroturf floors. The local style calls for plastic spikes to be attached to the birds' feet to increase the ferocity of the fight. After paying a small entry fee, be ready for lots of betting and lots of beer. Fights can go on for 15 minutes, or they can end quickly, either with death or the equivalent of a rooster TKO.

In the DR, the sport's legal and regulated by the National Commission of Cockfighting, and there are 1,500 venues throughout the country that hold certified fights. That said, it's definitely not for everyone.

Post-click, a well-done video tour of the cockfights.

Related Stories:
· Dominicans Say Cockfighting Is in Their Blood [NYT]
· Mess with the Bull, Get the Gore [Jaunted]

[Photo: Rebeca Argudo for The New York Times]