He’s Taken Bull by the Horns 500 Times

Nobody could ever accuse Nuno Salvacao Barreto of being scared to take the bull by the horns.

The stocky Lisbon businessman did literally that during 30 years as a leading performer of Portugal’s unique form of bullfighting in which the bull is wrestled to a halt by an eight-man team of forcados.

“I have broken almost every bone in my body. But it was a great life, and I would do it all again,” Barreto, 59 and in semi-retirement, said.

Barreto acted as point man--the one who takes the full thrust of the charging bull--in more than 500 fights during a career that began in the 1940s.

Appeared in ‘Quo Vadis’

His fame was such that he was called to Italy to perform the stunts in a scene for the 1951 film “Quo Vadis,” in which a gladiator wrestles a bull in an ancient Roman amphitheater.

“You need confidence, and you must keep your hands down when the bull charges,” Barreto said, speaking fluent English with an upper-class accent inherited from his British-born mother. “If not, it will lift its horns and then you are in trouble.”

In Portuguese bullfighting, unlike the Spanish version, the bull is not killed and its horns are padded.

The corridas begin similarly in both countries with horsemen and banderilleros on foot plunging barbed shafts into the tiring bull’s neck and back.

Nerve and Footwork

But instead of then facing a matador’s sword, as in Spain, in Portugal the bull is approached by the colorfully dressed forcados in single file behind the point man, whose only protection is a sturdy midriff and nifty footwork.

The bull, which will weigh up to 1,300 pounds, charges and lifts the first forcado between its horns while his teammates pile on, gradually bringing the bull to a halt before it reaches the outer barriers.

At least in theory. As Barreto points out, it doesn’t always work out so smoothly.

“If you’re not securely between the horns, or if someone slips, there is real danger,” said Barreto, whose arms and shoulders are covered with scars. “Even the banderillas (barbed shafts) sticking out of the bull’s neck are potentially lethal.

“Ironically, the faster the charge, the safer it is as the bull, when it accelerates, lessens its power to toss back its head.”

Few Deaths, Many Injuries

A young forcado was crushed to death near Lisbon in the first bullfight of the season recently, and in the 1960s one of Barreto’s friends died after a banderilla pierced his eye.

“In fact there have only been about four deaths in the last 30 years, though serious injuries are quite common,” said Barreto, who still occasionally leads his team, though nowadays from well to the rear.

Like nearly all the 16 forcado groups active in Portugal, Barreto and his colleagues are strictly amateur, performing for expenses only or to help raise money for charity.

The forcados, who take their name from their pitchfork symbol, first emerged in rural Portugal about 300 years ago when, to entertain their masters, servants would challenge bulls.

Their popularity quickly spread and the forcados’ spectacular performances are now a favorite attraction for the the 1 million fans who attend bullfights here every summer.

They also display their daring skills abroad with regular trips to Spain and southern France.