La Corrida de Toros

May 13, 2014

La Corrida de Toros

Guest blogger! I (Alex) am making my first appearance as a blogger today. So here we go.

There are a few things integral to Spain’s culture; a type of dance called flamenco, ham or jamon, soccer or futbol, Holy Week or Semana Santa, a nap or la siesta, parties or las fiestas, and bullfighting or la corrida de toros. Even though Abby and I have tried not to be tourists, we have wanted to make sure we do and see the traditional things of Spain. Before this weekend, we had seen or done everything except going to an actual futbol match, experiencing flamenco, and attending la corrida de toros.

This past week, one of our friends asked if we wanted to go with him to la corrida de toros. Before he asked us to go, we had been completely fine with not attending a bullfight for several reasons. First, neither Abby nor I are fans of violence. Second, we had heard it was relatively expensive. Third, we had not thought it was happening while we were in Spain. Well, we were wrong about the second and third reasons, and were asked to go.

The ironic thing about the la corrida de toros during the month of May is its association with the celebration of Madrid’s Patron Saint, San Isidro. San Isidro was a hard-working, devout, God-fearing daylaborer during the early Twelth Century. Besides being the patron saint of Madrid and farmers, he has nothing to do with bulls. However when there is an opportunity for a fiesta, the Spanish put everything together. This past Sunday night kicked off the San Isidro festivities and we were invited to attend the bullfight.

We hopped on the Metro at 5:30pm to meet at the arena at 6:00pm. When we walked up and out of the metro stop, the arena loomed large overhead. Completely made of bricks in the Neo-Moorish style of the early Twentieth Century, the building is gorgeous. Lobed and horseshoe arches decorated the exterior and interior of the building. It is not as large as the Colosseum in Rome but still impressive, and like the Colosseum’s beauty which hides the gore inside.

Once our friends arrived we grabbed our tickets, only five euro, and headed in. Interestingly the price is determined by two things. First, how close you are to the center of the arena. This is similar to games in the United States. Second, tickets are more expensive if you are sitting in the shade. The ticket counter literally has a diagram of the arena where the shade is located. The seats in the sun longest are the cheapest. Guess who bought the cheap seats? Good thing Abby brought a hat and we both had sunglasses.

Once inside we found our stone slab marked with our number and waited for the event to begin. This also reminded me of the Colosseum because the people are packed together. The girl in front of me literally sat between my legs and I was sitting between the legs of an old man behind me. I definitely prefer the somewhat crowded space of Wrigley Field.

There are three parts to a bullfight. First, the “tercio de varas”, a group of matadors tantalize the bull with their capes. The bull runs back in forth trying to thrust the matadors but the matador moves and the bull only thrust the cape. For me this was the most interesting and exciting part of the whole fight. The bull is fresh and running well. It is amazing to see the strength and speed the bull has. After a few minutes the bugel rings and two picadores, or riders on horses, enter the ring. The horse is completely blindfolded and covered in armor. The matadors lead the bull towards the horse and the picador stabs the bull on the top of its neck with a spear. These stabs tear and weaken the neck muscles of the bull making it extremely difficult for the bull to lift its head. Meanwhile the bull is trying to gore the horse through the armor. We felt bad for the horse. What did the horse do to deserve such punishment? During the sixth bull, the bull was so strong it picked the horse off its feet and dumped its rider at the same time. Abby nearly cried and I thought about the cruelty to the horse. When I got home I read more about bullfights and found out until the 1930’s horses did not have armor. Often during a festival of bullfights more horses than bulls died. To me it seemed like the whole thing was a waste. When the bugel finally rings again the “tercio de varas” ends.

The “tercio de banderillas” is the second part of the bullfight. Now that the bull is wounded, several matadors come out with barbed sticks. Three different times, these matadors tantalize the bull by running towards it and then stabing the sticks into the top of the bull’s neck while the bull tries to gore the matador. This furter weakens the bull.

The bugel rings and the main matador re-enters the ring. This begins the third and final portion of the fight, the “tercio de muerta.” This time, he is carrying the traditional red cape and sword. I pictured this last portion of the bull fight like this Tom and Jerry cartoon I saw as a kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCIxhJBu_ME.

I was a little off. The bull and matador are not in cahoots. The bull has been set up to lose. Eventually after the bull is worn out, the matador takes his sword and stabs the bull through its neck and its heart. If the matador misses and the bull is still living, which happened several times in our case, the matador tries again and again until the bull literally falls over and dies. Otherwise the bull sits down and dies. This also happened several times.

After watching this sequence happen the first time, I was ready to go home. I was also kind of excited because I thought we were getting out early. Rather, we found out that there were a total of six bulls being killed. By the end of the event, we felt almost numb and accustomed to the fight.

I decided two things after the bullfight. I like rodeos better. They are more exciting and less harm seems to be done to the animals. I am thankful I do not have to attend one of these again. No matter how violence is shaped, I am not a fan, even if bullfighting is an art form, as Ernest Hemingway has described it. Though this is a significant part of learning and understanding Spanish heritage, it is one part I could do without.