A Rapa das Bestas

The words Rapa das Bestas always resonated throughout my childhood. The Rapa das Bestas is a Galician tradition in which wild horses are rounded up once a year and brought down to the villages, where the “aloitadores” physically subdue them. In this millenary tradition that extends across Galicia, the horses and mares—known as bestas—have their manes cut, are dewormed, and the foals born during the previous year are separated for sale.

I photographed the Rapa das Bestas for many years, working in a highly exhaustive way to tell my own personal story and emotions through this ancient ritual.