Tourada a Corda Boa Hora, Sao Jorge

Terceira is the island where playing with bulls - the Tourada a Corda - was invented and is the island where it is mainly practised. However, it has also become popular on Sao Jorge and we decided to spend an afternoon watching the spectacle in the village of Faja de Sto Amaro situated  just before the Sao Jorge airport.

Caught the 1530 bus from Velas to Urzelina.

 As we were too early for the event, we decided to stay on the bus and walk the few kilometers back from Uzelina - luckily we had our waterproofs with us as part of the walk was in the rain. 

The photo below shows the airport runway which we walked past.

 

 The church of Nossa Senhora de Boa Hora which provided a grandstand view of the Tourada. 

The event was indeed part of the festa in honour of Nossa Senhora de Boa Hora

 The 4 bulls arrive in their crates on the back of a truck and are offloaded ready for the event

 The local band adds a festive note

 Please click on below arrow to play video clip - 

Note - unfortunately as the IPAD does not have Flash Player, this clip will not play on an IPAD

 Waiting for the firework rocket to signify the release of a bull

 The bull controllers handling the rope which is attached to the bull

 Threading the rope back into the crate so that the bull can be encouraged to reenter its crate

All in all a very similar event to what we have witnessed several times on Terceira

Beach Tourada a Corda & Folklore 7 August 2011

A procession of boats arrived in the marina and statues of saints were offloaded and carried to the church. Later, the beach behind the marina filled with people waiting for .... yes the bulls. No Festa is complete here in Praia da Vitoria without playing with a bull on the beach

We had a grandstand view of the beach Tourada a corda
Many small boats tied themselves to the buoys marking the swimming area to watch the fun on the beach





This was the last day of the highly enjoyable , albeit tiring, Festa. However, the Terceirens cannot, it seems live without a party. So, although this was the last day of the Festa, it was also the first evening of the week-long International Folklore Festival.
At 2130hrs we were back in Rua de Jesus to watch the opening procession with folklore groups from many different countries taking part - a pity the Morris Dancers from the UK were not taking part.


After the prcession, back to the Townhall steps for a folklore concert



The evening ended with a firework display celebrating the end of Praia's Festa and the beginning of the International Folklore Festival - never a dull moment in Praia da Vitoria!

Praia da Vitoria Festa 6 August 2011

1830hrs 6 August Mike made it to the Tourada a Corda of the day, this time close to the Continente supermarket on the outskirts of Praia, which was today's sponsor. The street was more crowded with people than I had seen before at such an event.
The first bull was already in the street when I arrived so quickly went into a side street out of reach of the bull - not feeling like tempting fate.
The above row of sturdy containers seemed like a safe observation spot so, after the rocket was fired indicating the all-clear - ie the bull was safely back in its pen, I climbed on top and stayed on the container till the end of the Tourada.
The container indeed proved to be an excellent place to watch the more brave than I
Chatted with a man next to me on the container who had emigrated to Australia from Terceira many years ago. He told me that the bulls used in the Touradas are rented from ranches. The rental price depends on the character of the bull - the more active/ agressive, the better the spectacle, the higher the price. Bulls that have injured people are in great demand - if someone died (happens occassionaly - in fact a man died in Angra last year while we were watching) the price is even higher !

Please click on the arrow to watch the highlights:


While Mike was at the Tourada a Corda, Jeannette was enjoying watching a Yoga demonstration close to the beach



2300hrs saw us back on the old Town Hall steps listening to a concert given by the Lajes Wind Instrument Band

Praia da Vitoria Festa 5 August 2011

5 August was what has almost become a routine Festa day for us. At 1800hrs we went to watch a Tourada a Corda in one of the streets of Praia Vitoria - there is a Tourada somewhere in the town or surrounding villages almost every day of the week-long Festa. Before the first bull is released the street is still full of people
Bull pens ready to release a bull - note cameraman on a specially constructed perch on the electricity/streetlight pole
Five of the bull restrainers


After a short rest on the boat we once more venture out past the large marquees lining the marina
Inside you can enjoy food from different regions of mainland Portugal - they are so popular there are queues every evening
Every thing has a place in the Festa - this time a parade of pet dogs

Then the Marcha Infantil

After this there were several floats and childrens characters












2300 hrs found us once more sitting on the Town Hall steps, this time listening to a concert "Voz da Saudade"
Two guitars, a choir and a keyboard entertained us to local songs about the island while images and video clips of the island and various Festas were projected onto a large screen


Back on the boat and after a welcome cup of tea, put in our earplugs to cut out the raucous sounds of the early hours deafening concert and went to bed at our now usual 0200+hrs. Our daily timetable has been adjusted to the Festa - up late, to bed late - the only way to survive this week!