In the late afternoon, with a chilly breeze blowing we arrived in the rodeo capital of Parana.
“Welcome to Colorado,” Renan Almeida, a local bull rider said as I rode into his ranch with Life and Doll.
Located in the northern part of the state, Colorado has hosted 42 consecutive rodeos since its humble beginning in 1973. Today, the event gives out thousands of Reais in prize money, has some of Brazil’s top artists perform and draws giant crowds.
“The people here love the western culture and the rodeo, that’s why it has been such a success,” Renan told me as we looked at his photos from this year’s rodeo.
That night Renan’s family cooked a delicious fish for us as we sat around chatting the night away. They called the dish “fish pizza.” It consisted of a grilled fish fillet with vegetables, potatoes and cheese on top. A delicious meal!
The next morning Renan took us to see the town. We visited the local country store where I was forced to take a million selfies, met the current president of the rodeo and then went to help the local kids practice bull riding.
“These are my bulls and I like to come here on weekends to help the kids out with their riding,” Renan said as we walked towards the large wooden corral.
Unfortunately for Renan, he is off the bulls for a couple of months. A few weeks prior to our arrival he had a bad wreck getting off a bull at a rodeo and hurt his leg really bad. But in good cowboy fashion, even with a boot cast, he is riding horseback, jumping fences and helping open gates.
“I love this sport too much to sit still,” he said while he helped tie a cowboy’s riding rope.
The last person to ride a bull that day wasnt tall enough to ride a rollercoster. At just 9-years-old “Neginho” as everyone called him, put his rope around a black steer. Renan held the young boy’s vest tight, instructing him on how to place his hand in the rope. With a strong pat on the kids back, Renan told him to give it hell and threw the gate open. Neginho lasted about 4 jumps before the flew off and landed face first in the dirt. He quickly shot up to his feet with a smile full of pride on his face.
“This kid had a very bad upbringing. His father is arrested, his mom has been to jail before and he lived with his 3 brothers and sisters in a shack. I took him in and I’m teaching him to ride bulls so hopefully one day he can have a better life,” Renan told me on the drive back to his house.
