Una Corrida de Toros

Warning: some bull fight pictures below are slightly graphic.

I saw a poster for a bullfight in nearby Ávila (that walled city that I wrote about a few posts ago) and so some friends and I decided to try one out. I had only been to a Portuguese bull fight before, never a Spanish one, and so it was different for me and definitely a cultural experience.

We took the bus to Ávila and bought our tickets. We had a few hours before the bull fight actually began, however, and so we found a tapas bar to pass the time in. Tapas are Spanish appetizers and are a popular snack in between meals in Spain. Popular tapas include croquetas, empanadas, patatas bravas, calamares, and of course, like we tried in Spanish class, tortilla de patatas. (Spanish tortilla is completely different than Mexican tortilla: it's similar to a thick potato omelet.) Here is a picture of my pincho de tortilla:

And of course, my friends with their various tapas as well:

After that we went over to the bull fight, or corrida de toros. As is customary, we rented cushions to sit on, since the stadium is all hard rock, and settled in. Here is a picture of my friends and I waiting for the bull fight to start:

Bull fights always have six bulls, two for each torero (they're really not called matadores in Spain, but toreros). Each bull takes about 20-30 minutes, and consists of the following phases:

1.) Testing the Bull: using a large pink cape, assistants make sure the bull is sound and there is nothing wrong with him.

2.) Banderilleros: Banderilleros get the bull to charge at them and spear it with two long poles, jumping out of the way just in time.

3.) Picadores: A Picador rides an armored horse and gets the bull to charge him. When the bull hits the horse, the horse is trained to stay still and the picador jabs a long pole into the bull's shoulders to further weaken it. All of this spearing and jabbing does not hurt the bull very much, it more serves to irritate it and get it to lower its head for the upcoming rounds.

4.) Pasos con el Torero: This is the central part of the corrida and a band plays music as background for it. The Torero works with the bull, using a smaller red cape. He gets the bull to charge at the cape and tries to show his skill by keeping his feet in one place and putting himself in danger. One particularly dangerous move some toreros try is moving the red cape behind their backs: this is incredibly dangerous, as if the bull decides to charge at the cape, he will run directly into the torero.

5.) La Matanza: The torero exchanges his sword for the killing sword. He does several more pasos with the cape and bull, trying to get the bull into position so he can drive his sword through its shoulders when he charges. A good torero kills a bull with only one try. After driving the sword through the bull, other helpers with capes come out and do more pasos with it, attempting to make it dizzy so it will fall down. Often removing the sword from its back will also make it fall. Once it has fallen, the torero has succeeded, and one of his assistants goes to the bull and cuts its spinal cord, thus immediately putting it out of its suffering. Draft horses are brought in to take the bull away.

6.) El Fin: If the crowd is happy with the torero's work, they may wave white pañuelos in the air, asking that the torero receive one of the bull's ears as a prize. If it took several tries to kill the bull, or the torero did not do risky enough pasos, the crowd will not ask for this. If the torero did an even more amazing job, he may also receive the other ear, or rarely even the bull's tail. The president of the ring makes the final decision on what to award the torero. If a torero receives at least two ears during the entire corrida de toros, he gets to be carried out on the shoulders of somebody in the crowd. The torero below was awarded two ears, which you can see him carrying in his hands as he walks around the ring in celebration.

Portuguese bull fights are different in several ways, the biggest reason being that they don't kill the bull at the end of the fight (something many Spaniards view as missing the whole point of the corrida). Portuguese bull fights also place much more emphasis on the picadores and their horsemanship than the torero himself. Portuguese horses wear no armor and have to maneuver around the bull in order for the rider to spear the bull. You can tell in the horses' eyes that they are terrified of the bull, and therefore it takes excellent training and riding skills to keep them calm in the ring. At the end of a Portuguese bull fight, a man comes out and yells at the bull to get him to charge. Once the bull charges him, he and his assistants wrestle the bull to the ground. Once it is lying on the ground, the men have "succeeded". To remove the bull from the ring, several cows are brought in and the bull follows them out. Isn't that typical...the guy following all the girls? =)

The first bull at the bull fight we went to was hard to watch...it took the torero three tries to kill it and it was really sad to watch the bull standing there, blood pouring from its mouth. The rest mostly died after one try and so were a little better.

So what do you think? Should bull fights continue because they are cultural and because up until the bull fights, the bulls lead relaxing and catered lives? Or should they stop because the suffering of an animal for others' entertainment is wrong? I'd be interested to hear your opinions!