Paula & Ed
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Bullfights - Commentary from 2000 trip to Spain

Sunday, our first day in Madrid, Maria, who along with her brother Julio own  the hotel we were staying in, asked if we wanted to go to the bullfights. She loves to  go, she said, and it’s such a Spanish cultural experience we shouldn’t miss it. Tim & I  were fairly reluctant. After all, it’s really a ritualistic slaughter of a bull, not  exactly an SPCA approved event. On the other hand, it’s quintessential Spanish culture, and  Madrid is *the* place to see it, if you’re going to see it at all. Julio tried to tell  us that it was a fair fight, but I don’t think so- after all, the bull always dies (or almost  always; the bull can be spared, if it is deemed truly exceptional, but this is rare). Yes, the  matadors and others involved risk serious injury and even death (we were to see the danger  firsthand at the arena), but a fair fight, I don’t think so. Anyway, after some thought Tim &  Alina & I agreed to go. Unfortunately, Alina started feeling bad that evening, so she  couldn’t go.

Maria’s brother Juan (yes, another brother) drove the three of us to the  arena, the Plaza Monumental de Las Ventas. It’s a beautiful building made of red stone and  brick, with a statue of a matador and bull in front, and when we saw all the people  streaming in it looked like the Coliseum might have looked before a gladiator fight. There  were several choices of seats: in the sun, in the shade, in the sun and the shade as the  sun set, close to the arena floor, in the nosebleed section. So when Maria asked what kind of  seats we wanted Tim & I just picked a seat price about two-thirds up the scale, and  gave her enough to pay for the three of us. She protested vigorously, but after we  insisted she went up to the ticket window and bought the tickets. She came back with  almost the most expensive seats, she had added more money of her own.

The inside of the arena was circled by maybe 40 rows of stone and concrete  benches, leading up from the dirt arena floor to a balcony, where there were more  rows. We were glad we paid an extra dollar (about 170 pesetas) for cushions, or our butts  would have been really sore from three hours of sitting on concrete. Our seats were  excellent, about ten rows up, in the shade. There was a boxed area high up that looked like  it might be for VIPs and maybe the press. Maria said that was where the president of the  bullring sat, and also Spain’s president or royalty when they attend the fights.

Starting each bullfight, and marking each phase of the fight, is a series of  trumpet blasts, like something you’d expect in a jousting match in an Errol Flynn movie. The  picadors come out on their horses, along with the toreadors and other participants,  and they parade around the arena in a big circle. The toreadors are dressed in colorful  sequined outfits, skin-tight. They are always lean, erect, and show the bravado one would  expect. The bullring is then cleared, and the first of six bullfights begins. A man runs  out with a huge sign stating the name of the bull, its weight, and the matador who will kill  it.

There are three phases of the bullfight, called tercios. In the first  tercio, the toreadors enter the arena (about six of them), some hiding behind short segments of  wall separated from the main arena wall, leaving only enough room for a man to get through,  and not a bull. Then the bull is released and it tears about the arena looking none  too happy. The bull has a ribbon, or rosette (showing the colors of the ranch on which it  was bred), stuck in its back, around about the shoulder blades, and there is already some  blood trickling from that. The toreadors take turns taunting the bull by waving magenta  capes, and the bull dutifully charges. The toreador lets the bull run through the cape and  he finishes with a flourish. Sometimes the bull catches the bullfighter off guard and  the he has to retreat behind the wall.

After the bull starts getting tired, perhaps a few minutes, the picadors ride  into the ring.  The picadors wear fancy white suits, large hats, and wear some sort of  protection around their torsos, under their suits. The horses have thick pads around them and  are blindfolded. Even the stirrups are armored. The picador carries a pica, a  lance maybe eight feet long and a couple inches in diameter, with a steel point at the  end. The toreadors taunt the bull and get it to charge a picador. The bull rams the  horse, which is so well-trained it simply leans into the bull as the bull tries to gore it.  The picador stabs the pica into the bull’s back to weaken the neck muscles, so its head is  lower for the kill.  He usually does this a couple times. Now plenty of blood is flowing down the  bull’s back, and it is plenty mad, but weakened.

The trumpets sound and the second tercio begins. Three toreadors come out  with a pair each of brightly colored barbed sticks, or banderillas, perhaps three feet  long. In turn, each taunts the bull into charging, and at the last moment he jumps out of  the way, at the same time poking the sticks into the bulls back. The base of each stick is  flexible so it flops down along the side of the bull while remaining stuck. This causes  some pain, obviously, there is some bleeding, and it drives the bull crazy because the  sticks bounce against its sides. The other three toreadors do the same, and the bull now  has six of these things sticking into its back, and it’s *really* not happy now. The  toreadors taunt the bull some more, and it’s time for the third tercio to begin.

The trumpets sound, and the matador (the toreador who kills the bull) stands  alone in the ring with the bull. He uses a muleta, a red flannel cloth on a wooden stick.  This is the classic bullfighting pose, the matador standing very erect, staring down the  bull, holding out his muleta and taunting the bull. (Yelling in Spanish, so I don’t know  exactly what he was saying, but I’m sure it amounted to, “hey bull, come on, come on,”  that sort of thing.) The bull charges several times and each time the matador deftly lets  the bull pass under the muleta. Sometimes the bull catches the muleta with its horns and  flings it into the air. This is met with a dirty look from the matador, and the toreadors  have to come out and get the bull away so the matador can retrieve his muleta. Sometimes  the matador puts the muleta behind his back, with the bull charging so close that you  think the matador is finally going to get gored, and the crowd loves that.

When the matador is ready to kill the bull, he steps to the edge of the ring  and is handed his sword. The bull is pretty tired by this time, but he still has enough  energy to charge when the matador goads him into it. For the kill, the matador gets the bull  to charge, and attempts to thrust the sword between the bull’s shoulder blades. I say  attempt, because usually he has to try two or three times before it goes in properly. One  matador got it right on the first try, and the sword went in all the way, and must have  severed the bull’s aorta, which is the idea. Blood poured out of the animal’s mouth, it did one  agonizing circle, and collapsed. After the bull drops a man comes out with a knife and  severs the spinal chord behind the neck as a coup de grace. Some men with a team of  horses enter the ring, tie a rope around the bull’s horns, and drag it away.

Before the carcass is dragged away, the crowd may petition the President of  the bullring to award the matador for his bravery and a job well done. This happened in  one of the earlier fights when a matador had en especially energetic and difficult bull  to kill. The matador did a good job, considering the bull was very fast and the matador  was nearly gored several times (although I suppose that’s part of the job). At one  point the matador lost a shoe. He glared at the bull, and the crowd didn’t know quite what to  make of it all.  The quick thinking matador stood erect, pointed his sword at the bull, and  with a kick of his foot sent his other shoe flying. The crowd cheered. So in his stocking  feet the matador dispatched the bull, and the crowd loved it. To petition the  President to award the matador the crowd stands, cheers, and waves white handkerchiefs. If a  majority of the crowd waves handkerchiefs the President has to award the matador one ear  from the bull. In this case, apparently not enough people waved so the matador didn’t  receive an ear.

In the last (and best) fight, the matador had an even more aggressive bull to  contend with.  We know the bull was going to be difficult because before the toreadors were  able to get him to charge, the bull ran around the perimeter of the ring, as if it wanted  to get out. A minute later, it did get out! The bull jumped over the wall and started  running along the corridor between the wall and the stands. Toreadors and personnel jumped out  of the way, and some even had to jump back into the ring. After a few frantic  seconds a man being chased by the bull succeeded at the last second in closing a gate  behind him, opening a path back into the ring. After the commotion died down, it was  time for the picadors to come out. And the bull wasn’t ready to concede yet. The bull  charged one of the horses, and as the picador attempted to lance it, the bull reared up and  knocked the picador right off his saddle. Unfortunately, he hit his head on the wall and  was knocked unconscious. The toreadors worked as a team to get the bull away from the  man and his horse, and the picador was carried out of the ring.

Naturally, the crowd was in an uproar. Apparently, this doesn’t happen very  often. After the picadors lanced the bull, and the toreadors placed the banderillas, the  matador still had a very energetic and mad bull to kill. The matador used his muleta again  and again and got the bull very tired. It seemed that the matador was able to  mesmerize the bull with his muleta and sword, and he was able to grab the bull by the horns and  shake its head! Moments later the matador dispatched the bull, with much cheering from  the crowd. This time, the president acknowledged the approval of the crowd and  awarded the matador one ear. The ear was cut off and the matador strutted around the  ring (basically a victory lap, known as a vuelta), holding the bloody ear high  above his head.  Awarding one ear signifies the approval of the spectators, but there can be  additional awards, or trofeos. If the President himself considers the performance (and  it is theater, in a way) to be outstanding, he will award two ears. And if he considers it  to be truly exceptional, he will award the tail as well. I don’t know what the matadors  do with their trophies, I don’t think I want to know.

After the bullfights were over, Tim and Maria and I took a bus back to the  Plaza del la Sol in the center of town, in fact the zero-mile spot for roads out of  Madrid. Maria gave us a tour along the way, and the buildings, statues, and fountains were  beautifully lit. It was then just a short walk to the hotel. The next day Maria showed us a  newspaper article about the bullfight. The picador who had been unhorsed was in the  hospital in a coma. This was unfortunate, of course, but I do have to admit it’s almost  good that the bull does get to score some points, before it’s killed. I’m glad we went to  the bullfights, but I don’t think I’d need to do it again.  

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  • Home
  • Florida 2021
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    • Transatlantic Cruise
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  • Southwest Travel
    • Sedona
    • Apache Trail
    • Palm Springs
    • Grand Canyon
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    • Lake Havasu
    • Las Vegas
    • Bisbee
    • Payson fly-in camping
    • Luke AFB
  • Other Europe Trips
    • England 2006
    • Italy 2004
    • UK 2000
    • Bullfights - Commentary
    • Europe 1994
    • Original Europe 2014 Facebook posts
  • West Coast Travel
    • Portland
    • SoCal - Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Catalina Island, San Diego & Coronado Island
    • SoCal - Santa Barbara & LA
    • San Francisco
    • Seattle
  • Around the USA
    • Florida 2012
    • Chicago and Upper Michigan
    • Vermont 2001
    • DC Flying Trip 2001
    • Cities of the South
    • Kiowah
    • Key West 1980's
    • Western Travels Early 1990's
  • Alaska
    • Alaska Photos
    • Travelogues
      • Lewisville, TX to Whitehorse, Yukon
      • Whitehorse to Kachemak Bay
      • Kachemak Bay to Seward
      • Seward to Juneau
      • Juneau to Seattle
      • Seattle to Lewisville
  • Down Under
    • New Zealand
    • Australia
    • Fiji
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    • Mexico 1984
    • Walker's Cay, Bahamas
    • Grand Canyon circa 1992
    • Northwest USA Trip
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      • Michigan Tech
  • BMW
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  • Desert Photos
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