Home > Uncovering Mexico > Archives > 2008 > April > 30 > Entry
The characters you meet at the cockfights
Of all the ways people have found to make a buck in Mexico, Nicolas Zedillo may have found one of the strangest. We ran into Nicolas last week at the cockfights in San Marcos, Guerrero, about 40 miles from Acapulco. We were there covering a story on migrants who bring gamecocks back home with them for their hometown’s annual fair, and spotted Nicolas selling his magazine, Galleros de la Region, inside the cockfighting ring.
Nicolas spends his time journeying up and down Mexico, hitting every town fair and cockfight he can find. At the cockfights he takes Polaroid pictures of the winners, which he sells to them for about $5. But his real money comes when he convinces them to publish the pictures in his magazine for $50 a shot. Cockfighting is a pretty macho sport in Mexico and many handlers are driven by pride. So it’s not a hard sell to convince cockfighters to buy space in the magazine, especially while they are in the afterglow of their victory and pocketing their winnings.
Nicolas has carved out a unique niche for himself with a pretty captive market. But it’s a tough life, he is quick to tell you. He’s on the road most of the year and because cockfighting is a nocturnal sport in Mexico, works from about 10 p.m. until dawn, in a rough and tumble world where copious amounts of alcohol mix with high stakes gambling. And because he is in small towns at fair time, it’s a chore to find a spare bed.
Judging by his appearance last week, his life on the road has taken a physical toll. When we ran into him he was sporting two large scabs on his nose and a bloodshot eye.
Comments
Click here to report comment abuse.
By charlie
June 20, 2008 1:44 PM | Link to this
Aw, the poor, poor cockfighter magazine guy. I feel so sorry for his difficult job.
Give me a break. Maybe I’ll start a magazine and pay reporters $50 to fight other reporters to the death.
Que the “you don’t understand, it’s our culture” defense for killing animals for fun.