New Orleans Living: Angola Rodeo

Yesterday was the day I have been waiting for since early September. It was Angola Rodeo day!! Brie, Nick, AV, Daniel, Bill, Zach, Caleb, and I hit the road around 9:00 in the morning. After a few pit stops along the way we made it to the Louisiana State Penitentiary around 12:30. It was definitely a long ride! A lot of interstate followed by Baton Rouge, then lots of long, flat, rural road. The entrance to the facility is very pretty though; it is decorated for fall near the gate then there is a long road on to the property leading to the prison that has fields of cattle and horses on either side. (First time I have seen a cow in nearly four months!)

AV was the only rodeo pro in our group, as this was his third trip to Angola. The rest of us didn’t know what we were in for! You walk into the area around the arena where there are tons of different food kiosks offering everything from fried Snickers and fried Coke to catfish po’boys and Chinese cuisine. Then there were plenty of carnival type attractions for kids to enjoy including a dunk booth, huge inflatable slides, and a place to get your picture taken with a long horned bull. Scattered amongst all of this were “hobby craft” areas that feature paintings, wooden creations (rocking chairs, picture frames, chests, etc.), and leather products (belts, hats, purses, etc.) all crafted by inmates. In one section there were signs near the items for sale that instructed you to contact the inmates behind the chain link fence about pricing. It was kind of a strange set-up; though I suppose it is the only way to make it work, but there was a long row/fenced in area that the inmates were in. It was plenty wide for them to wander around in, but most stood and watched folks browse the crafts.

Around 2:00 the rodeo began so we found our seats which were not the best as we soon found out (that is what you get for waiting until last minute to buy your tickets though!). We were pretty much ground level--in most situations that is a good thing--and therefore could not see what was going on inside the pin when people were walking by in front of us. We were to the right of the shoot the bulls came out of, but they tended to go to the left, so again, hard to see the action. At the beginning of the show we were in the shade, but as the sun moved across the sky we were slowly exposed to the hot rays! There was a large section of the bleachers to our left that was entirely fenced in where probably two hundred inmates sat to watch the rodeo.

There were forty to fifty inmates dressed in jeans and a black and white striped shirt who participated in the action. Of course there was classic bull riding then there were other less traditional events. For instance there was a game of “chicken” essentially where inmates stood in hula-hoops that were placed on the ground while a bull was released. The last man standing in their hoop won. Another similar event was set up with five inmates sitting around a red table “playing poker” while a bull was released. This was probably the most exciting thing we saw because the bull demolished the table and clobbered a few of the guys in the process! Luckily they were all able to walk out of the arena unassisted and assumingly unhurt. There were other games/events as well and the clowns put on skits in between acts. A random, yet hilarious, show in between bull events was a man with three dogs, perhaps small Collies (I really don’t know much about different breeds of dogs) that had little monkeys dressed as cowboys riding them. Yes, you read correctly: monkeys. There job was to wrangle three goats into a small fenced area. It was weird and totally amusing to see cute little monkeys riding dogs around in the dirt!

Understandably due to the nature of this rodeo, visitors are not allowed to bring cameras, cell phones, weapons, prescription drugs, alcohol, or other contraband into the facility. Therefore, I have no pictures of the actual rodeo. I did purchase a program that has a lot of information about the rodeo and the prison. They also have a website you can check out: www.angolarodeo.com. There is a nice video showing some of the action.

The traffic leaving was horrible but we jammed out to the rodeo and played “would you rather” to pass the time. Everyone arrived back at Joseph Street around 7:30 safe and sound!

Overall I would say everyone had an enjoyable time! The weather was great and the people watching was amazing. Though it was a long day, I would say the Angola Rodeo was a definite success!!

I really wanted this shirt! Now each roommate has one!