My Island

Milton Ocasio was born in Puerto Rico and has lived in Fitchburg, Mass. for the last ten years or so. When I met him on the beach in Ponce, he was in the middle of a 2 week trip back home, he had not been back in a decade. When he was talking about why he missed Puerto Rico, he told me, that for him, there was no other paradise on Earth. "This is my island......" he said. "....My Island!!! Ya'll can visit, but it's MINE!" It was wonderful to see someone so appreciative of anywhere in the world, especially when it's home.

Old San Juan

The architecture of Old San Juan is really amazing. The city itself is full of cobblestone streets and buildings that date back to the 16th and 17th century when Puerto Rico was owned by Spain. Wandering the streets looking for ways to reflect that was a real treat, a beautiful area that seems to have ghosts of its colonial past all around.

Iguana Man

Sometimes I get a reminder why it is so important to listen to your gut. It is a rare gift, but every once in a while a little voice in my head tells me that there is a picture to be made. When it happens while I'm driving, the impulse is to say "No, I'm busy right now, I'll come back later". Usually I get about a block before huffing a curse under my breath and turning around to photograph what I think I saw or felt.
In Puerto Rico in June, I was in the passenger seat on a day off from assignment when I saw a man attempting to sell baby iguanas for $3 a piece on the side of the road...."Picture".
I jumped out of the car, thinking I could catch up because traffic was slow. Yeah, right. Anyway, I thought the picture was of him holding them in front of his face, but it turns out that my gut told me otherwise, and it made all the difference.

Cockfighting in Puerto Rico

Fans and gamblers bet at cheer at the Club Gallistico de Puerto Rico in San Juan Puerto Rico. Outlawed in all 50 U.S. states following legislation banning the sport in Louisiana in 2008, cockfighting remains legal and popular in the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico.



A plastic spur is attached to the leg of a gamecock as a replacement to it's natural spur, which is cut off and filed down before a fight. Made of a fingernail like material, natural spurs can vary greatly from bird to bird. Artificial spurs of the same size and weight help to make opponents more evenly matched.



Manuel Antonio Diaz holds the gamecock that he is putting up to fight while it's spurs are filed down in order to be replaced by plastic ones. Diaz said he officially puts his birds up for a $200 wager, which is kept in a sealed envelope by a judge during the fight. Informal wagering on top of that can drive numbers much higher. The most he ever bet on one fight was nearly $50K he said.



Gamecocks stand in display cases prior to fighting so that spectators can inspect them and help determine the bets that they may place on a fight.



Spectators peer through a glass wall to see as gamecocks are inspected and prepared for upcoming fights. The birds must be the exact same weight as their opponent, and have certain areas of their body shaved or plucked of feathers, as well as being fixed with a synthetic spur that they will use to attack their opponent.



Gamecocks wait for the plastic cases that hold them to be lifted, beginning the fight. A bout lasts fifteen minutes after which if both cocks are still standing, a draw is declared. A winner is declared if his opponent either killed or is unable to stand for one minute.



A strong kick to the head sends a gamecock's opponent toppling over during a 15 minute fight. The attacking bird was permanently blinded during the fight due to injuries to both of his eyes but continued to fight aggressively for nearly ten minutes. Although defeated in the final minutes of regulation, the bird's owner said that not only did he survive, but was sold for $300, a price warranted due to the bird's demonstration of courage and toughness, traits the purchaser hopes will be passed along to the chicks that he produces as a brood cock.



Papo Calazán shouts out a bet while a fight continues in the pit below. Betting is done throughout the fight, by shouting out loud a wager, a willing counterpart accepts the bet based on a code of honor that it will be reconciled after the fight.



Gamecocks attack their opponents by biting with their beak for grip and then kicking at them with their powerful legs and using their heels or spurs as weapons. While the bites can cause injury, it is the kicking that is usually the source of lethal blows.





Luis Angel, 8, collects a lifeless body of a losing cock as spectators purchase food and reconcile bets following a fight.



A gamecock pecks at the eyes of his opponent checking for life after delivering a deadly kick. Officials at the event said that on average around 40 percent of losing gamecocks die from their injuries, while many can make a full recovery and serve as brood cocks or even return to the pit to fight again.


Blood soaks the floor of a cage in the infirmary of the Club Gallistico de Puerto Rico. After fighting, gamecocks are fed, given a shot of antibiotics, and have their wounds treated. Many are returned to their owners with barely a scratch. Others that are more severely wounded can be permanently disabled or die from their injuries, and are discarded.

Drug War

Nogales is out of control. Drug cartel war has never been this violent here. What used to be periodic kidnappings and executions is now all out shootouts in major commercial sectors of town. AK-47s and hand grenades are the weapons of choice.

I had my G9 with me and shot some video at this scene where a shootout occurred around the corner from the restaurant I was at, looking for a friend. I was scheduled to do a ride along with the municipal police, but upon arriving was told that all media ride along requests were now being cancelled, via word from the big bosses at the state level. I was already in Mexico, by myself, and had a story to do. So I was looking for a friend of mine who I was hoping would be willing to go a few places with me so I could try to get some photos of the police in action. Just then, there was a ruckus, people saying "Gunshots". I ran around a corner to find that there was a car that had been shot up on a major street in front of a big grocery store. Several men abandoned the car and ran into the store, throwing their AKs aside at the door. Upon search of the vehicle, over 20 clips of ammunition, several bullet proof vests, and two hand grenades were found. As I was in line to leave the country later on, a volley of gunshots rang out nearby. It must have been 10-15 seconds of solid automatic weapons fire.

The video is on the fly with a point and shoot, and on deadline, so I did what I could. Please give it a look at: http://videos.azstarnet.com/p/video?id=2180420

Goodbye Sidewinders

It has been a pleasure to cover AAA baseball in Tucson. It is a 40 year legacy that ends tonight with the final game of the Tucson Sidewinders, who will move to Reno for next season. I will really miss it.

More adventures in Mexico

This was a lot of fun to do. I was supposed to be relaxing on the beach in San Carlos, taking some days off. When I met these fishermen, I had to go out to sea with them.