Brazil's Festa do Peao of Barretos is a giant celebration of cowboy culture. (Photos and text: Rafael Estefania).
From mid-August, for 10 days, the town of Barretos in the state of Sao Paulo hosts the event.
A giant 27m high metal statue of a cowboy welcomes you to the rodeo grounds. Posing in front of it is almost mandatory for all visitors.
Staying on top of a tonne of muscle and fury is not easy.
Typical cowboy food, grilled cuts of beef and beans, is served. A cow's horn is blown to announce that dinner is ready.
The Festa do Peao began 58 years ago, when a group of riders organised a small horse riding competition. It is now the world's second largest rodeo.
There are bars, shops and all kinds of cowboy-related attractions. In the picture, a boy practices on top of a replica bull.
Keeping on top of a jumping and twisting bull is not easy. It takes great physical and mental strength.
Some children as young as eight practice by riding sheep.
Women at the rodeo take part in a discipline called barrel racing, a timed competition between three barrels on horseback.
The rodeo stadium, designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, hosts a big party at night when sertaneja groups (Brazilian country music) take to the stage.
The Festa do Peao is a celebration of cowboy culture of the interior regions of Brazil. The cowboy style knows no age.
At the festival you can find almost anything: boots made with fish scales from the Amazon and even, as pictured, stuffed bulls' heads to decorate the living room.
The festival site covers an area of 300 hectares. Nearly one million people pass through the festival gates during the ten days.
