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audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - On the first weekend of July, hundreds of wild horses are rounded up during the ''Rapa Das Bestas'' (taming of the beasts) in different villages in the Spanish northwestern region of Galicia. The more than 400-year-old festival lasts four-days, during which the horses are wrestled to the ground by hand to have their manes and tails sheared. The festival sees horses herded down from the mountains by Aloitadores, or fighters, who work in teams of three to overpower them. Thousands of visitors descended on the small village to watch the fighters man-handle the wild animals into submission. The horses used in the festival live in a semi-feral state in the nearby mountains. Wrestling the animals, which can weigh several hundred kilograms, is seen as a test of strength and will.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Two horses fight during the Rapa das Bestas traditional event in the Spanish northwestern village of Sabucedo
© Marcio Machado/ZUMA Wire
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Wild horses are seen gathered during the Rapa Das Bestas traditional event in the Spanish northwestern village of Sabucedo.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - A reveler tries to dominate a wild horse during the Rapa Das Bestas traditional event in the Spanish northwestern village of Sabucedo.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Two girls participate in the Rapa das Bestas.
© Marcio Machado/ZUMA Wire
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Aloitadores (fighters) struggle with a wild horse during the 400-year-old horse festival called Rapa das Bestas.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - A reveler tries to dominate a wild horse during the Rapa Das Bestas traditional event in the Spanish northwestern village of Sabucedo.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Aloitadores (fighters) struggle with a wild horse during the 400-year-old horse festival called Rapa das Bestas.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Participants grab a wild horse during the Rapa das Bestas traditional event in the Spanish northwestern village of Sabucedo.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Wild horses are seen gathered during the Rapa Das Bestas traditional event in the Spanish northwestern village of Sabucedo.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Participants grab a wild horse during the Rapa das Bestas traditional event in the Spanish northwestern village of Sabucedo.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 5, 2014 - Galicia, Spain - Participants grab a wild horse during the Rapa das Bestas traditional event in the Spanish northwestern village of Sabucedo.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Villagers round up wild horses during the 400-year-old horse festival called ''Rapa das bestas'' (Shearing of the Beasts) to be trimmed and marked.
© Marcio Machado/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Marcio Machado

MARCIO MACHADO is a Brazilian photojournalist, with more than 17 years of experience. He has worked for Folha de Sao Paulo, and Agencia Estado, the most important newspapers of Brazil. In 2003 he became the official photographer of the Parana government, and today he is working in Europe as an specialized sports photojournalist. He is a citizen of both Brazil and Spain. (Credit Image: © Aida Perez Vazquez/Marcio Machado/ZUMAPRESS.com):534


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