Rapa das Bestas, A Valga (June 2009) and Sabucedo (July 1996), Spain
Over the course of my 20-year project documenting A Rapa das Bestas, I have witnessed a profound shift in this tradition. It has evolved from an intimate, local gathering by the church in Sabucedo—captured here in black and white—into a massive, televised spectacle complete with mobile orchestras. This transformation extends to the role of the photographer: the democratization of the medium has led to an huge influx of amateurs, prompting many professionals to abandon the subject. While a single photographer could once work in solitude during the 1990s, today one must navigate dozens of others, a shift that often makes the resulting work feel less secure and less impactful.
