The story
Colete Encarnado in Vila Franca de Xira
Colete Encarnado is the principal festival of Vila Franca de Xira, held each July to celebrate the town's ties to the Ribatejo floodplain and honor the campino, the region's traditional cattle herder. First held in 1932, it centers on bulls run through the streets and bullfights, named for the campino's distinctive red waistcoat.
Vila Franca de Xira sits on the Ribatejo floodplain along the Tagus, a region whose agricultural economy has long depended on cattle ranching carried out by the campino, a horseback herder distinguished by a red waistcoat, black cap and a long wooden pole called a chuço used to direct bulls across open pasture.