Log 33 - "La Corrida de Toros" - Our First Bullfight

In this log we are going to introduce you to a different form of the bullfight.  Our last encounter with bulls was back in the streets of the Portuguese Azores (Log25) in the summer of 2004. 

Seville's Plaza de Torros - from the front

The spectacle of bullfighting has existed in one form or another since ancient days, as far back as 2000 BC according to one cave painting. Bullfights were popular spectacles in ancient Rome, but it was in the Iberian Peninsula (today's Spain) that these contests were fully developed. The Moors from North Africa who overran Andalucía in 711 AD changed bullfighting significantly from the brutish, formless spectacle practiced by the conquered Visigoths to a ritualistic occasion observed in connection with feast days, on which the conquering Moors, mounted on highly trained horses, confronted and killed the bulls.

The Seville bullring without spectators.

Seville's bullring, la Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza, is supposed to be one of the most elegant in Spain and one of the oldest, with initial construction beginning in 1758.   It was here and at a nearby place called Ronda, that bullfighting on foot (instead of horseback) began in the 18th century.

A vicious 60lb bull...

The bullfighting season typically starts around Easter and runs to about October.  A month or so prior to the season opener and our first event,   we went to visit the bullring and its museum to learn a bit more about the spectacle and its traditions. Many outsiders think of the contest between bull and man as one-sided. They fail to appreciate the danger embodied by a corrida bull. A typical bull bred for the corrida (bullfight) is a jet-black, 460-kg (1000-lb) engine of awesome speed and strength, with long, dagger-sharp horns.  It wears a blue shirt with ...

Mother cow and her killer son and the victim.

In the museum, this display in particular caught our attention.  The matador in the picture was killed by an extremely crafty bull.  So unusually intuitive was the bull and so grievous was the mother of the matador over her loss that afterwards she insisted that the bull's mother be killed so that never again could a bull, as evil as the one that killed her son, be born and enter the bullring again. So we see, the bull does not always lose. 

The Seville bullring in the 18th century

As bullfighting developed, the men on foot, who by their capework aided the horsemen in positioning the bulls, began to draw more attention from the crowd, and the modern corrida began to take form. Today the bullfight is much the same as it has been since about 1726, when Francisco Romero of Ronda, Spain, introduced the estoque (the sword) and the muleta (the small, more easily wielded worsted cape used in the last part of the fight).

6:12pm Sunday, March 27, 2005 - La Corrida de Toros

The matadors and assistants arrive at the ring.

Bullfighting today is big business and rewarding for the successful few matadors who make it to the top. Many are multimillionaires, but have paid for their fame with many severe horn wounds; others have paid with their lives. Bullfighters generally expect to receive at least one goring a season. A star matador will fight as many as 100 corridas a year, and can make the equivalent of about  U$25,000 per corrida.   Before on-site medical treatment facilities, a gored matador stood a very high chance of bleeding to death before receiving any proper aid.

Settling into our seats

6:28pm - Well, we are settling into our seats waiting for the show to begin.   When Chris went to buy the tickets a week earlier, in addition to section levels, he also had the choice of sun, partial shade, or shade.  Spain gets hot in the summer and Seville can get as hot as 50 Celsius!  But being March, we opted for affordable.   Our tickets for this star-filled event were about $C 35 a piece - the best in the house were nearly $ 300!  And 'no', there was no TicketMaster, no booking by telephone, nor internet or anything else.  Chris stood in line outside the bullring on the correct day at the correct hour in all of its tradition-steeped honor, an experience in itself.

The opening procession

6:31pm - Back to the event.  Six bulls, to be killed by three matadors, are usually required for one afternoon's corrida, and each encounter lasts about 15 minutes. At the appointed time, the three matadors dressed ornately in silk jackets and monteras (bicorne hats), each followed by their assistants, the banderilleros and the picadors, march into the ring to the accompaniment of grand music. This cuadrilla (group of apprentices) that follows each matador into the ring, will assist the matadors in the slaying of the bulls.

Chris' mom & dad waiting for the events to begin.

Chris' mom and dad are sitting with us as our Norwegian friends from s/v Stroller.  The time has come...our senses are overloading as the rich tradition of the fight begins to play itself out in front of us.

        Classical bullfighting is theater in three acts...

Three toreros start to goad and tire the bull.

In the first act, the toro, or bull, is released into the bullring from the confines of a dark pen. Dazed by the light, the bull will first see three toreros, or bullfighters, standing in the ring waving large capes to attract its attention and goad it into initial charges. The toreros run behind wooden barriers at the sides of the bullring, which the bull charges and rams with enormous violence.  Then Picadors on horseback (a couple of photos up) spear the bull with long lances, a practice designed both to enrage the animal and to make it expend its energy battering their blindfolded and padded horses.

A banderrillos harpoons the shoulder muscle.

In the second act three banderilleros in sequence enter and run at the bull carrying short, barbed harpoons with flags attached. Agilely avoiding the bull, they plant the harpoons in the hump of its back, leaving it gleaming with (more) fresh blood. The stings of the barbs drive the animal further into a frenzy of rage.

The matador flourishing his cape...

The faena is the final act. The matador faces the bull alone across the ring, carrying only a tiny red cape and a sword. His goal is to kill the bull. Ideally, he will do it with a single sword thrust between the shoulder blades, his weapon sinking in to the hilt and piercing the heart of the beast. First, however, he must bring the animal to a mesmerized, exhausted, and panting halt.

To achieve this, he entices the bull into frantic charges by flourishing the cape in elaborate passes. Purists demand these motions be graceful, swift, sure arcs. They also demand the matador not falter or flinch as he draws the thrusts of the bull's lethal horns within inches of his flesh. Before this apex of human cool, the bull eventually grows hypnotized from its own dizzying circles. It wears down until it sinks on the sand before the matador. Younger matadors may play to the spectators near the finish, sinking to their knees and dropping their capes. More traditional matadors lock the bull in a deadly stare, stroking the bull's horns or the rough fringe of hair across its head to gauge the spirit remaining before delivering the death blow with the sword. 

Here, one of our matadors, Enrique Ponce, lines up for the final thrust.

Getting ready for the kill.

An appreciative crowd

If the matador shows a lack of grace, skill, or courage, or if the knowledgeable crowd perceives that the matador contrived to fight a smaller, tamer bull, jeers will follow him from the ring. If all is performed with sufficient aplomb, however, the judge will award the matador the bull's ears or, for an exceptional kill, its tail.   

Two Ear performance for El Cid 

The crowd is very appreciative today for the first performance of superstar "El Cid" and the judges award two ears, which you can see in the matador's hands as he walks around the perimeter of the bullring smiling at and waving to his fans.  These guys have massive egos!  In our event programme, all the statistics are spelled out for each fighter: total number of corridas, total number of ears awarded, more specific details on the past season. For example, one of them has fought 1348 times and been awarded 1767 ears since his professional debut in this form of bullfighting in 1988.

A mule team hauls the deceased bull out.

And what of the bull?  He is hooked to a team of mules - con o sin orejas (with or without ears) - and hauled out of the bull arena.  A team of attendants quickly straighten things up and rake the floor as required.  Then the next fight begins.   Olé!

Rabo de Toro - Oxtail stew.

The corrida is a spectacle with a long history and many rules.  It is not, as many might suggest, a ghoulish alternative to the slaughterhouse (itself no pretty sight).  Aficionados will say the bull gets to live a year longer than the slaughterhouse route and will die with much more honour.  The corrida is about many things - death, bravery, performance.  No doubt the fight was bloody and cruel, and our hackles and bile raised more than once.  To witness a fight is not necessarily to understand it, but it gives some clues to the thought and tradition behind it. And so, we conclude this log with a picture of a delicious Spanish concoction we got to enjoy, Rabo de Toro - bull's tail stew.

Join us in Log 34 where we experience the April Fair, take a road trip to Granada and sadly (yet excitedly) get ready to leave Seville.