Except that no blood flows - the banderilla equipped with Velcro just hangs on a cushion attached to the back of the bull - and that most of the spectators speak English.

Without any bloodshed, California law obliges.

"The first time I came to California, fifteen years ago, I said + wow! +. It's incredible because they have everything like in Portugal", tells AFP Joao Soller Garcia, professional rider came especially from Lisbon to bullfight in Turlock.

"Go to a bullfight in Portugal and you will find the same thing," he said, shortly before entering the arena to be applauded by some 4,000 spectators.

A majority of them come from Portuguese immigration - mainly from the Azores archipelago - who began to settle in this agricultural area since the beginning of the 20th century.

The Portuguese flag flies next to that of the United States during a Portuguese bullfight organized in Turlock (California) on July 10, 2022 Frederic J. BROWN AFP

The community has continued to develop since then, with newspapers, radio, associations, etc.

The bull by the horns

Nunes, Gomes, Martins, Oliveira... the names testify to this heritage to which some 350,000 Californians (out of a total of 39 million) proudly claim to belong, who often remain fiercely attached to their culture and their language.

This is the case of José, 30, who came to watch the bullfight with a group of friends.

The young man, born in California, switches from English to Portuguese without even realizing it.

"It comes naturally to me. Many people here speak Portuguese in their daily life, even the youngest (...) For me it is sometimes easier to express my feelings or to joke in Portuguese", explains- he.

Some 4,000 spectators, mostly of Portuguese descent, attend a bloodless Portuguese bullfight on July 10, 2022 in Turlock, central California Frederic J. BROWN AFP

On the Turlock arena, the Portuguese flag flutters next to the American flag but when the party begins, the Portuguese anthem is played first, proof of the importance of Portugal in this small part of central California.

Former president of the religious association of Turlock which organizes bullfighting, Antonio Mendes is the one who revived this tradition in the city, in 1993.

"We are Portuguese and it's part of our way of life, especially on the island (of the Azores) where I come from," says the septuagenarian who, despite decades spent in Turlock, prefers to speak in his mother tongue. and be translated.

A cattle breeder, Mr. Mendes also helped create a line of bulls still used today in Portuguese bullfights in the region.

As in California the bulls cannot be stung by real banderillas, they do not weaken as much as in Portugal and it was necessary to develop specific lines, just as combative but less heavy.

"Here, the bulls weigh 400 to 450 kg, because it is bloodless. In Portugal, they are around 600 kg, they are big", explains George Martins, captain of a team of "forcados".

These "forcados", which always go in teams of eight men, all amateurs, are responsible for immobilizing the bull with their bare hands, thus symbolically administering death to it.

Because unlike Spanish bullfighting, in the Portuguese style the animal is never killed in the arena.

These reckless people are nicknamed the "suicide squad" for a good reason: one of the "forcados" literally has the mission of being charged by the bull and taking it by the horns, receiving an impressive headbutt in the process. stomach, before his companions seized the beast.

A group of "forcados" grab a bull to immobilize it and represent its symbolic death during a Portuguese bullfight organized in Turlock (California), July 10 Frederic J. BROWN AFP

"It's not just brute force, it takes a lot of technique," notes George Martins.

"All His Strength"

A bullfighting enthusiast since childhood, Joao Soller Garcia says he enjoys the classic Portuguese style as much as its bloodless Californian adaptation.

But "compared to Portugal, it's a little more dangerous because the bull is not injured (...) He has all his strength", insists the rider.

Maxine Sousa-Correia, whose family of breeders has been producing bulls for Californian bullfights since the 1970s, deplores the use of Velcro on banderillas, made necessary by law.

Portuguese rider Joao Soller Garcia plants a harmless banderilla, finished with Velcro, on the back of a bull, during a bloodless bullfight organized on July 10, 2022 in Turlock (California) Frederic J. BROWN AFP

"Unfortunately, it's only an imitation but it's the best we can do (...) But we are not doing justice to this animal", annoys this passionate about bulls.

“It sucks!”, slices her husband, Frank Correia.

Two "forcados" struggling with a bull during a Portuguese bullfight organized on July 10, 2022 in Turlock (California) Frederic J. BROWN AFP

"We should do it like in Portugal. But we can't, because we're in the United States and they don't know how to appreciate this art," grumbles the cowboy-like man.

© 2022 AFP