While in Spain, I had a chance to go to a Bullfight. Now I have gone to bullfights before but this is the first time that I have gone with a digital camera. Let me share the experience. First of all, none of the picture are overly gory, so worry not. I will say however, that the fight itself is not for the faint of heart. I went at the start of the season and the bull ring was not that full. What is more, the spectators were mostly tourists. Contrast that with Soccer where the stadia are always full and the vast majority are locals. I have this feeling that a big driver for the bullfights is tourism.
Here is some trivia that you may or may not know. You will notice that the arena is filled with sand. Well we call Arenas such because they have sand. Arena is the Latin word for sand because in ancient times, the gladiator arenas were covered with sand to soak up the blood. As this is the case with bullfights, I thought it appropriate to share that fact.
At any rate…. below are the pictures.
This is the outside of the arena in Madrid, called Las Ventas.
My friend Mathew and myself enjoy some Cruzcampo, before the fight. Though Mathew called it Cruz-crapo because it is one of the worst beers ever.
At the start of every fight there is a procession where the matadors and all the other bullfighters parade through the arena and present themselves to the person who is overseeing the bullfight.
Next comes the bull. I think they are beautiful animals.
The next step is the Picador. This is a man on a horse who has a spear. It is his job to weaken the bull by stabbing it with the spear right in the shoulders. Plus the puncture wounds bleed and I am sure that the loss of blood also causes the bull to be weakened.
If you notice, the bull has small javelins stuck in his back. I missed the action which brings these about but, there is a man called the banderillero who puts these spars in the bulls back. He puts in two a total of three times for a total of six javelins. These serve as decoration and to weaken the bull. Often times the javelins are done in symbolic colors such as the colors of the flag or the colors of region.
Finally the Matador does some passes with the bull. Here is his chance to show how brave he is. He does things like get on his knees, put his back to the bull and things of the like. In the end however, he kills the bull.
Going to see the bullfight is odd. It is not an experience that I want to have over and over again or maybe ever repeat again but to see something so savage and yet revered as a piece of cultural heritage is interesting. I think sometimes we get a little removed from animals and our meat. Seeing a bullfight, in a way, makes it a little more real to me. For me to get my meat, an animal must die so that I can get that meat. I think seeing that bullfight helps ground you in that fact. I do not want to take what I eat for granted but at the same time I am not about to become a vegetarian.
