Why Dominican men like to keep their cocks out

You see them outside many homes: colorful, alert, solitary roosters tethered to posts on porches, house corners, or doors. They wait, pampered, preened and unaware that their fated chance to participate in their first, last, or next fight to the death with another such cared for cock awaits them.

Imported with the arrival of Columbus in 1492, cockfighting is now a national sport in the Dominican Republic, second only to Baseball in importance. Men spend innumerable hours tending to their cocks' needs; some argue that Dominican men treat their cocks better than their wives or children. Cocks are pumped full of vitamins and minerals. Their underbellies are plucked to aid in swiftness and spikes are applied to their legs with hot wax in the hopes of gaining an advantage over their opponents. Cockfighting arenas in urban centers are plush, complete with comfortable seating and bars with bands playing. Such venues charge an entrance fee and men bet into the thousands of dollars on fighting rounds of either 15 or 20 minutes. Referees in nicer places also thoroughly inspect cocks and apply an acid rinse to ensure that no foul fowl play is afoot--some competitors rub their cocks with tobacco or other chemicals to aggravate them before a fight. In the campo, or smaller villages, men hold backyard cockfights and place smaller bets--although proportionally these bets can still amount to quite a bit of a man's income.

Here are some pictures of some coveted fighting cocks