La Rapa das Bestas (The Taming of the Beasts) 2011 Festival

Since the Bronze Age, La Rapa das Bestas (The Taming Of The beasts) has been a major festival that takes place at the end of June or beginning of July in and around Pontevedra each year.

What is La Rapa das Bestas?

It basically entails livestock owners (the locals) rounding up their wild horses (one man per horse) and taming it enough for it to allow them to have its mane sheared and be branded. Each municipality in Galicia tends to hold its own Rapa das Bestas between June and August and the best place to check where these are taking place is on the Rapa das Bestas website.

It’s quite a random festival that sees the horses rounded up in a traditional corral, where the owners divide up the horses into groups the day before the main event. On the big day, the ‘Agarradores’ (someone who seizes) grapple with the animals until they are able to control it, then they brand it and cut off its mane. The party begins once this is complete and celebrates the subduing of the horse – or taming of the beast!

These events normally take place in the mountains of the north and centre of Galicia, but are well worth a visit if you have the chance. Take some time to admire the ancient stonework of the corrals that has remained intact for centuries. The events pull in crowds from all over Galicia and it’s quite normal to find tourists at these events too.

Here are the sites of the main Rapas:

A Coruña

A Capelada (Cedeira)

As Cañizadas (Pobra do Caramiñal)

Lugo

Candaoso (Viveiro)

Campo do Oso (Mondoñedo)

Valadouro (Santo Tomé)

Pontevedra

Mougás (Oia)

Morgadáns (Gondomar)

San Cibrao (Gondomar)

Sabucedo (A Estrada)

Monte Castelo (Cotobade)

Paradarta (A Cañiza)

0 Galiñiro (Gondomar)

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