Dateline Sunday: Bull Fight

DISCLAIMER I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS PRACTICE AND DO NOT SUPPORT THE SLAUGHTER OF ANIMALS FOR SPORT. AS A GUEST IN THIS COUNTRY I FEEL IT IS MY DUTY TO ATTEMPT TO EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTAND AS MANY DIFFERENT FACETS OF THE CULTURE AS I CAN. BY ATTENDING THIS EVENT I WAS SIMPLY TRYING TO ABSORB AND UNDERSTAND A DISTINCT AND IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE SPANISH CULTURE.

ADDITIONALLY, THE PICTURES ARE QUITE GRAPHIC AND WERE TAKING TO SHOW THE EVENT TO THE FULLEST. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED (Side note: I have always wanted a reason to say that…)

Phew! With that all said, yes, I did attend a bullfight this Sunday at Madrid’s Plaza del Torro (it may or may not be related to Benicio). The stadium itself is a beautifully constructed brick building with many gorgeous details.

Wow! When I first arrived outside the stadium from the Metro I couldn’t believe the amount of people that were here for this event. There were people of all ages from little children (we’re talking 4, 5, or 6 years old) to old men scalping tickets… And judging by where you sit in the plaza, the tickets can range in price from €4,20 to €100,00 (crazy, right).

Anyway we got the cheap seats, which turned out to not be that bad. Sure we were high up (as high as you can go minus about 3 rows) but if we were any closer I might actually have cried or vomited… The seating itself is interesting: it’s just concrete not chairs. And you know what? The concrete was more comfortable than the seats at a baseball game. So anyway, the crowd comes and brings beer, food and enough cigars cigarettes to give a small country lung cancer (or me for that matter…), sits down, and prepares to watch six bull fights from start to finish.

It is an event very much rooted in tradition. The participants are all dressed very ornately and there is a band of sorts consisting of some horns and a drum that signals when certain segments of the bull fight are going to happen. Now instead of going into the details (suffice to say the first bull’s death was the most disturbing and violent thing I have ever witnessed in my life) I’m going to let you look at the pictures and ask me any questions that you have later. I will now, however, attempt to explain one or two of the more interesting customs that I at first did not understand.

After a bullfight is over, if it has been a particularly good one, the crowd will wave white handkerchiefs at the Matador. This custom is apparently to get him to cut the ear off the bull (the ears and the tail are considered trophies) and if they keep waving it means that he should take the other ear and the tail as well.

Another interesting fact: these bulls are not trained. This is their first time in a plaza and their first time interacting with the matadors and the various colored cloths. For better or for worse, at least this means that these animals are not bread and abused to be angry, vicious creatures.

And finally the one thing neither my friends nor myself understood. At one point when a group of matadors entered the plaza, the people in the stands began throwing their clothing at him so that he would throw it back… Why? No clue…

So there you have it. A brief description of my experience at a bullfight. Like I said before, click on over to the pictures if you want and please ask me questions later.

¡Hasta luego!