Vaca das Cordas Pt.1 – A perilous tradition of northern Portugal

“The bull is very powerful, you have to be careful.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

These are the warnings I heard so often over the next two weeks that I began to question myself.

Let’s rewind a little to a chain of truly random events, that will ultimately get me close to a bull, weighing nearly 500-kilograms.

01 – Discovery

Ponte de Lima is known as the oldest town in Portugal, beautifully situated and surrounded by rolling hills, winery fields, with the odd forest hike and the river Lima to enjoy. Of course its idealistic and relaxed lifestyle has gained some attention, and brought over plenty of immigrants in search of a better life. As you can imagine, the town slowly bulged with new apartments, supermarkets, and fast food joints that always seem to pop-up out of nowhere. Still, in the centre however, lies an old charm where one can wander to their local bakery, the fruit and veg stalls, and finish off the rest of the day chatting idly to the staff in a river front café.

I was enjoying such a day, walking through cobbled streets until I noticed very distinct purple posters littered across walls and tables. There advertised was “Vaca das Cordas 2025” with a cartoon image of an angry looking bull, it’s horns tied by ropes. Like most people, I had heard of bull runs and fights that are infamously popular in Spain, but never of a Portuguese variant. So this naturally intrigued me. Without ever imagining how the following events would fall into place.

Vaca das Crdas poster inside the Confeitaria Havaneza café

It turns out that it all goes back to around 1125 when the town’s status had elevated to “Vila de Ponte”, a time where many festivities and rituals brought people together to share joy, faith, and hospitality in Ponte de Lima. One such occasion was the festival of “Corpus Christi” (a pagan festival), where bull-running had played an important role. The “corrida de touros à corda” (bull run on ropes), now popularly known as the “Vaca das Cordas” (Cow on a Rope).

What natural instinct led me to dig deeper? I know I’ve always had a deep love for diverse cultures and our natural world, subsequently this has been evident throughout my photography. Especially since my first travels in 2007 where I’ve sought far out areas for new experiences, and in more recent years, been drawn to reveal human impacts when I witness them. As I sat there watching last year’s online footage of an enormous crowd surround the bull, I felt compelled to be there in person. Not only to witness first hand some of Ponte de Lima’s rich culture, but also to immerse myself in the crowd and capture it’s raw energy, not forgetting what the bull must endure.

02- An Accident

“Oh I was there, and I had a bit of a fall” she said.
That was no exaggeration. From what I was told, she had nearly cracked her head!

Just opposite me in a small sun soaked town square, in a local cafe with my tiny cup of tea, sat Linda Ashton. A lady who had just informed me that she had been attending Vaca das Cordas for the last few years, though last year was a particularly eventful one to say the least.

This is how the story was told:
As the crowd ran ahead of the bull through small cobbled streets, they chanted a kind of war cry; short bursts of a chesty grunt akin to what a gorilla would make when annoyed. Linda took the opportunity to stand around a corner to witness and photograph the bull as it passed. All mentally planned until the unthinkable had just happened, the bull saw sunlight and turned towards her as if to escape towards open air. The bull hadn’t actually hit Linda, but the crowd in front had jumped back in panic knocking her down, with her head making contact on the hard stone pavement. As the bull had been pulled back onto it’s planned route, the crowd ran on, and Linda slowly rose back up. She was quickly taken to the nearest restaurant where she was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Linda Ashton shows me the corner where the accident had occured.

“Most of the time accidents happen due to the crowd, not the bull” She was quick to add, as if to protect the the bull’s innocence. Luckily no serious harm was done as she was now happily enjoying the conversation in front of me, contemplating on attending again, though this time from a distance. Quite wise I felt.

Linda looked at me, more seriously this time.
“Sam, are you sure you want to do this?”

03- Unexpected results

“Here is the number of the organiser, Anibal. It’s best if you contact him.” Explained the kind lady in the Municipality offices.
I knew she had said this thanks to Cristian’s excellent translation of the Portuguese language. Cristian is a young Colombian chap who I had become friends with overtime. We were on our way for a cool dip in the river Lima in town since it was such a warm cloudless day. But hold that thought, we have Anibal’s number in our possession! So as we stepped outside he gave Anibal a ring and chatted for what felt like a lifetime, as I stared like an excited dog waiting for a treat.
“He’s is in a café just around the corner. Shall we meet with him?”
“Yes. Yes we really should!”

Confeitaria Havaneza is a typical European cafe with round tables that spilled out onto the town’s square, beautifully situated and brimming with both locals and tourists alike. Again, I received a tiny cup of tea while they drank their coffee. Anibal was a very pleasant and upbeat man who was more than happy to have a photographer on board. Following a relaxed conversation, I was given the opportunity to get close to the team on the day, with their official shirt to wear, allowed me access to view the bull before the main event, and speak to a historian who has spent years digging into the event’s origins. To say the least, I was both dumbfounded yet incredibly grateful. As I got up to pay there came the historian himself, a tall slim gentlemen called Antonio with a warming smile, we made plans to meet in the following days. I love how the Portuguese do business!

Finally! Poor Cristian got his wish for that quick dip in the river, very much deserved after all the translation he had just voluntarily conducted.

04- Another glass

“Some more wine?”
I never pretended to be a wine sommelier, but with the quality of Portuguese wine, I was happily becoming one. With a cheesy grin and a nod, Antonio poured me another glass, so that we may discuss plans of the actual event. His apartment felt breezy, comfortable, yet some how professionally rustic, right in the centre of Ponte de Lima. Antonio understood my English perfectly well, luckily, his lovely partner Gabriela was there to help translate his spoken words.

Records have been silent on precise origins, but there was a record with the event being held as far back as 1537. A time when society arranged for jobs to have obligations, and it was the millers who took the important role of pulling the bull through the streets. It’s somewhat unclear to why it was the millers who were chosen, presumably with the knowledge of having lived in the country, they could handle a bull. Failing this valuable task incurred a fine of 200 réis and a stint in prison, which then increased to 480 réis by the municipality, for those who refused this duty.

Overtime, the ritual became dormant thanks to economical and political events, plus 2 wars and a pandemic. However, the event did form again illegally. Since the 1920s Vaca das Cordas had sprung up by informal organisations along with local authorities. Antonio’s father being heavily involved at the time. The bull was brought up from the south of Portugal where bull fights were more prominent, parties were thrown in manor houses with a decent level of wine and food. Nowadays though, it is run by official organisations with an increasingly over bearing amount of visitors. Well known on a national level, including northern Spain, Ponte de Lima now draws in over 100,000 people during the day of the event.

There will be a bull of nearly 500-kilograms in weight, led through narrow cobbled streets brimming with people. Some will be frantically running ahead, others will be courageous enough to touch the animal, and to top it all off, they’ll be drunk! Which explains the courage.
Gabriela spoke, Antonio glanced my way.
“Sam. The bull is very powerful”

To capture the best shots, my position in the crowd will be paramount, my choice of location will need planning, and I will have to be fast, very fast to get ahead of the bull. In just a few days he will be arriving from the south, a day before Vaca das Cordas. Time is short. Detailed planning is essential.

The next tale…

Vaca das Cordas Pt.2- The Main Event Revealed.

The bull reveal, the raw energy of the crowd, and, how I got a little too close for comfort with danger.

Read part 2 now

Keep being inspired by nature and other worldly cultures.

Thanks for reading. Sam Rios.