Cockfighting Club

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Sites of memory · Year: 1850

Cockfighting was a very popular entertainment in the Canary Islands well into the 20th century. Fighting cocks arrived from Lower Andalusia to the Archipelago after the end of the Conquest, but it was during the 18th century that this activity began to be a highly sought-after popular spectacle.

We know that from 1785 in Santa Cruz fights began to be held on Sundays and holidays in a house with a large courtyard, located on Calle del Pilar, “ almost opposite the church ”. But it was from 1850 onwards that the city had a specific place for this type of event with the construction of the Círculo Gallístico, located on Calle de Santa Clara, right in the El Toscal neighbourhood. The venue had a fenced circular track where the confrontation of the animals took place and around it was a wooden grandstand with a capacity for five hundred spectators.

The fights were generally held in spring, although it was common for the season to start during Carnival. The fights were always contracted taking into account the weight of the cocks, with the amount of money the winner would receive stipulated in advance. Enthusiasts bet on each contender and a “gallero”, an expert in the matter, directed the technical aspects of the combat which, on many occasions, ended with the death of one of the animals.

The Círculo Gallístico remained active until the mid-1920s. It was replaced, although both operated simultaneously for a time, by an excellent cockfighting arena located on Calle Santa Rosalía, active between 1906 and 1937. From that last date, the fights took place in various spaces: travelling circuses, cinemas such as Avenida, San Martín or San Andrés; in the old Frontón and in wrestling rings such as Los Campitos.

Despite the Animal Protection Law, approved in the Islands in 1991, cockfighting still survives in the Canary Islands “in those localities where it has traditionally been held”, in order to maintain the tradition. However, today it is no longer as it was before. Now fights can only last a maximum of 10 minutes and only between 5% and 10% of the cocks end up dying in the fight. Currently, neither betting nor genetic manipulation of the cocks is permitted and entry to these spectacles is prohibited for those under 16 years of age.

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