Bullfights are traditional in Portugal and Spain and specific to Terceira island in the Azores archipelago. Over the years it has spread to other islands although at a much lesser scale.
From May 1st through October 31st it is the official bullfight season. Daily, we can find more than one at every parish around the island. These are known as "
touradas à corda", when the bull is left loose only with a rope tied around the neck and held at the other end by five shephards. This allows for the most adventurous to play and defy the beast.
This is an ancient tradition in Terceira island, dating from the 17th century, and is only staged in this Azorean island, no other one has the same feel and willingness that the inhabitants of this land expresses or nurtures about bulls and bullfights.
To have an idea about street bullfights by the rope watch this
link.
In June and August there are also bullfights staged at Angra do Heroísmo´s arena. These follow the classic style used in the Iberian peninsula where the bull is fought from the back of a horse by a "cavaleiro" followed by a group of "forcados" who try to grab the beast from a heads on position, at ground level. This can be quite an interesting and emotive scene usually raising lots of loud sighs and shouts from spectators.
