My experience of the Philippines was heightened by staying with relatives of my girlfriend (half Filipina). One of her uncles, like most men in the rural Philippines, frequented the cockfighting arenas to gamble and fight their own cocks. Al started taking me to the arenas along with his good friend and better, Opow. I of course had mixed feelings about experiencing this particular slice of culture. It seemed a contradiction the way that the trainers of these roosters seemed to love and care for their fighters as if they were a member of the family, but had no problem letting them fight to the death. They would even, on occasion, go without food themselves if money was tight, to ensure that the roosters were fed. When I brought up the issue of ethics to the men involved in the highly popular sport, they thought I was referring to the ethics of gambling. The ethics of the animal’s treatment was not something that had crossed their minds. I can’t say that I enjoyed attending the ten or so cockfights that made up this photo essay, but it gave me a deeper understanding of Filipino culture than anything other experience in my two month stay in the country.
