Philippines: Cock FIghting in Manila
Cock fighting was a popular entertainment across the world for thousands of years but in the Philippines its popularity is still unparalleled and has been since pre-hispanic times. Although legal, the fights are supposedly regulated but the vast majority take place with no licence in the back alleys that make up the Philippines’ seemingly endless shanty towns.
Most fights, or Sabong, are gambled on and rarely last more than a few fleeting seconds before one of the birds is killed. Love it, as many Filipinos do, or hate it, as most Westerners would, this undeniably brutal spectacle is a staple of Philippine celebrations. These pictures were taken during the Patron Saint’s Day celebrations in one of Manila’s many poor but proud barrios.