Corrida de toros

The bullfight was interesting. I'm glad I saw it, but I would not be one to frequent the events. It was pretty gruesome actually.

There were 6 bullfights, meaning 6 different bulls. Every fight was essentially a scripted copy of every other, but with a different matador each time, and the behavior/size of the bull varied with each fight.

I thought that a bullfight consisted of simply a single bullfighter and bull, but no, there are many other ingredients.

Each fight followed a pretty elaborate script:

First the bull would be let out and 2 bullfighters would stand at 3 separate "corners" (forming a triangle) of the ring. One of the three groups would brandish their capes and entice/taunt the bull into charging. The bull would then run over, run through the cape a few times, then the bullfighters would run behind a protective outcropping, with their heads still visible to the bull, but to where the bull could not reach them. Then the group from the opposite side would begin calling/taunting the bull and it would race across to the other side and the situation would repeat itself. This worked to tire/frustrate the bull.

Second, a man on horseback with a long spear would come out and the bull would be led over by one of the bullfighters to it. The bull would then charge and ram the horse (which was blindfolded and was wearing some sort of protective blanket, which I am sure protected it from being cut up by the horns, but I imagine the horse is pretty bruised up the next day), and the rider would fight it off by kicking it away and stabbing at its back with his spear. The bull would finally give up the fight and then be distracted and led away by a bullfighter with a cape. It would charge the cape a few times and tire itself out, and then would be led to the other side of the ring to another rider/horse, which it would once again ram and receive another series of stabs for its efforts.

By now the bull was is visibly exhausted and bleeding profusely, and 3 to 4 new bullfighters would stand, one at a time, in the center, brandishing two, hand-held spears, which I guess are hooked at the blades' ends. The bull would rush the center-standing bullfighter, who would sidestep the charge and jam the spears into the bulls back. This situation would repeat 1-3 times, depending on the condition of the bull.

The bulls chest would now be heaving, it would be gasping for air, its dried tongue hanging 6 to 12 inches out its mouth, 4-8 spears would be hanging off its blood soaked back, and streams of blood would be running down its legs, staining and puddling in the sand below. The matador, with a small, red cape and sword, would walk to the center of the ring and compel the bull to charge a few times, after which he would stand in front of the bull, defiantly, sometimes even placing his hand on the bulls head, once the bull lacked the strength/willpower to continue on. The matador would then walk away, with his back to the bull, then about face and entice the bull to charge one last time. When it charges, the matador would thrust the sword, down to the hit, into the bulls back. The bull would collapse, and the matador would stride over, unsheathe a small knife, and deliver the deathstroke with a swift, powerful stab to the bull's nape.

The first fight was a bit hard to watch, I was not ready for all the blood I guess. I felt bad for the bull too. Obviously the bull was just brought in to die, but I felt like it was given no chance, especially since every bull was dispatched of cleanly, with no injuries incurred by any of the fighters. After about the second fight I just settled in and enjoyed the spectacle though, somewhat secretly hoping that the next fighter would get gored.

One of the bulls was spared though, as it was really entertaining, it even tried to jump the ring's walls into the crowd at one point.

The odds are stacked against the bull, undoubtedly, but I still gotta give respect to the bullfighters. It takes a lot of something to get in there. All of the bulls were over 1000 lbs, and when they charged, they were amazingly quick, and I witnessed the impact when they collided with the horses. Substitute man for horse, and well, it wouldn't be good. Especially the fighters without the capes. When a fighter has a cape, the bull would charge that, but those with just the two spears, well, the bull was gunning straight for them. Sidestep the wrong way...

As I said, the experience was interesting. Definitely made more so by the cultural aspect of it. When I think of Spain, I think of bulls. Its hard not to among the thousands of black bull silhouettes, usually against a red background, that you can see on T-shirts, flags, posters, signs, everything across the country. There were definitely a lot of tourists there, but the majority of the crowd was Spanish, and not surprisingly mostly male. I hadn't been to one before, so I'm glad I saw it.

Olé!