Cockfighting, known as “Bulang” in Hiligaynon, has been a long-standing tradition among Filipinos, with roots dating back to pre-colonial times. While originally involving a simpler form of combat without blades, the Spanish occupation introduced the use of blades and permanent arenas, a practice that persists today. The Ilonggos, in particular, are renowned for their patronage of cockfighting, which was also allowed by the Spanish authorities to generate revenue taxes on the activity.
Almost all towns in the Philippines boast the presence of a gallera or cockfight area filled to capacity by men and their roosters on weekends or during the town fiesta.
Grupo en una pelea de gallos is one of the five photographic prints at Biblioteca Nacional de España that bears the Fotografia de Felix Laureano mark. This suggests that it could have been one of the 40 photographs exhibited by Laureano at the 1887 Exposicion General de Filipinas in Madrid.
Source: Bibliotec Nacional de España
Reference: National Museum Western Visayas
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