With the Pedro Romero fair opening this week and the recent announcement that Catalonia intends to ban bullfighting, we take a look at the sport that spills blood among the traditionalists and animal-rights activists.
It was a close call but the parliament of Catalonia, backed by a petition signed by 180,000 people, voted to ban bullfighting in July 2010. It is the first region of mainland Spain to take this decision, the first Spanish region to ban bullfighting was the Canary Islands back in 1991. Some rumours suggest the driving force was not just pressure from animal-rights activists but another attempt by Catalonia to differenciate itself from the rest of the country. But will the rest of Spain follow suit?
Nowadays, cries of dying art forms and waning traditions will fall on deaf ears when the general consensus follows that the unnecessary suffering of animals is no longer sport but slaughter and outdated barbarism. The ban placed on foxhunting in the UK in 2004 is perhaps another indication to confirm today’s changing attitudes.
This video shows how a bull managed to jump from the ring and into the crowd in August 2010.
A Typical Bullfight
In Spain a corrida, or bullfight, lasts approximately 20 minutes during which the bull is stabbed numerous times before the fatal blow is delivered with a sword between the shoulder blades. Bullfighting is practised in Spain, Portugal, France and Latin American countries but interestingly in Portugal and the south of France, the bull is not killed in the ring. The bulls are bred especially for the fighting sport and each corrida uses 6 bulls and 3 matadors who tackle 2 bulls each. Each matador has 6 assistants and the team is collectively known as toreros (bullfighters).
History
Bullfighting can be traced back to Crete 4,000 years ago where frescos have been found of men and women challenging the beasts. It also found a place in the Roman amphitheatres entertaining the crowds along with the bloodshed of gladiators. But it was Franceso Romero from the town of Ronda in Spain, who, in 1726, lay down the rules of the procedure including the use of estoques (sword) and muleta (small capes). Later, Pedro Romero, the greatest matador of the time was appointed head of the Escuela de Tauromaquia de Sevilla, the first ever bullfighting college. It remains almost unchanged. The matadors still don their traje de luces (suit of lights, while a supersticious lot still consider wearing yellow in the bull ring to be unlucky. Only in recent years have women played a part in the bullfight.
Art or Sport?
Interestingly only detractors call bullfighting a sport. Traditionalists classify it as an art form claiming there is no competition involved. Even though a number of people have died in the bullring, the lack of competitiveness rings true when you consider that the odds are unfairly stacked against the bull. Petroleum jelly is rubbed into their eyes to create blurred vision and they are shut away in the dark so as to be dazzled by the sunlight in the ring. They are often given laxatives and tranquilisers.
In his book ‘Death in the Afternoon’ Ernest Hemingway, famously a fan of bullfighting in his day, wrote of the sport “I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after”…
Bullfighting Facts
- Bulls are in fact colourblind. The decision to use a red muleta (cape) is now based on the tradition of concealing the bull’s blood.
- Initially more horses were killed in the ring than bulls. Since 1930, horses have worn protective covers to prevent the bulls disembowelling them.
- The faena, performed by the matador, uses the muleta to creatively allow the bull to charge and narrowly pass by the matador’s body.
Pedro Romero Fair & Ronda
30th August – 6th September 2010
The main event is the Corrida Goyesca (a style of bullfighting which evolved in the 18th century and was recorded by the painter Goya) held in one of the most famous bullrings in the world, the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda.
It’s easy to leave the bullfighting out of it and enjoy the other festivities going on. There’s plenty of dancing, singing and wine-tasting to enjoy throughout the week. The event officially opens with a parade. It starts with the Dames Goyesca, women handpicked for their elegance and beauty and finishes with the switching on of the fair’s artistic lights. Celebrations continue into the night at the Feria del Centro with numerous musical performances taking place at the Municipal Caseta. The roaring “Olés” echo round the bullring on Saturday and Sunday. Along with the bullfight there is also the Carriage’s Contest and Ronada’s horseback bullfighting
Ronda is a beautiful place to visit, whether or not you’re attending the bullfight. It’s probably the most stunning of all the Pueblos Blancos, a group of towns and villages located within the Sierra de Grazalema National Park and characterised by their whitewashed walls and red tiled roofs. Ronda lies 130m above El Tajo gorge with a stunning 18th century bridge, the Puente Nuevo, connecting the two sides. Although it’s popular with day-trippers you’ll discover a historic town with pleasantly intact architecture. Fine examples include the Moorish influences evident in Santa María La Mayor’s minaret which was originally a mosque and also the 14th century Casa de Mondragón, the palace of Moorish kings. Most will not fancy the bullfight but the Bullfighting Museum is also housed inside the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda (15 Calle Virgen de la Paz). It lies beneath the bloody public arena and provides a chronological tour of bullfighting culture, its origins and the art of horse riding. There are displays of costumes and also Goya’s full set of Tauromaquia (admission €6).
Getting There
It’s a windy road up into the Serranía de Ronda so the bus can be a hair-raising ride. We suggest the train:
Depart Malaga: 10:00/16:46. Arrive Ronda: 13:57/20:50
Depart Madrid: 08:40/15:05. Arrive Ronda: 12:27/19:01
If you are coming from Seville you need to change at Cordoba and the journey takes about 4 hours.
Accommodation
The Hotel Acinipo in Ronda has rooms from €29pppn night but if your’e looking for youth hostels Malaga has a number of budget properties both in town and along the coast. You can book a dorm room from about €13pppn and at most hostels Madrid and its historic city centre is on your doorstep. Alternatively if your’e looking for slightly cheaper hostels Seville prices start at €11pppn for a dorm or €14pppn for a private room.
Similar Events in Spain
Semana de Toros: This bull run (6th-12th September) is held every year in the Castellon town of Segorbe. Bullfighting events take place throughout the week but this is the main event and is broadcast live on local TV.
Torneo del Toro de la Vega: Meaning ‘the tournament of the bull in the meadow’, the bull run is part of the Festival of the Virgen de la Peña held in the second week of September in Tordesillas near Valladolid. This time it is the townsfolk that chase the bull. The toro (bull) is chased across town by horsemen wielding spears, over the bridge and into a meadow. Until now the bull has only been wounded by corrida lancers, which is thought to cause an adrenalin rush and blood loss, alleviate undue suffering and also improve the flavour of the beef. Only on reaching the meadow is the final blow dealt. Rather unpleasantly, the killer is invited to cut off the bull’s testicles and parade them through the town impaled on his spear. He receives a gold medal from the City. This event is supposedly a ritual sacrifice and has, like many such events in Spain, been declared of Regional Tourist Interest.
Like this? Read about the Pampolona Bull Run here.
Thanks to dutchb0y, stealthproject2006, ebifry and papalars for the images off Flickr!
September 1st, 2010 at 9:43 am
‘Bullfighting’ is a funny name for an “art” that involves grievously injuring one competitor before beginning the public part of the competition. It makes Spain look like an anomaly in the EU. The EU, which is endeavouring to bring Europe into a more humane age by legislating in new ways, such as, banning seal fur imports from Canada and all animal experimentation for cosmeti purposes. Spain should inject a little objectivity into this matter and realise that some culture is barbaric and a national embarassment
September 1st, 2010 at 10:51 am
This is disgusting…..bull fighting should be banned….serves these people right!! This is not a sport its pure evil!!the poor bulls being tormented and killed and all theses sick and twisted people want to watch This……why..?? it cruel….
September 1st, 2010 at 11:19 am
I am Spanish and I hate this heartless tradition. It´s great that both, Catalonia and the Canary Islands have banned it. Baleares is already trying to ban it too and many other regions in Spain are facing similar campaings as the one which ended up banning bullfighting in Catalonia.
However, it´s gonna be difficult. Bullfighting is still a huge business. And tourists are a great income for that business. Many Spanish people, speacially the young Spanish folks are over this cruel, wild, shameful and sadist tradition. However, when tourists visit Spain, bullfighting is one of the “things to do” because they wanna took to picture in the arena to prove that they´ve really been to Spain.
And that´s part of the problem. If tourists would not support this, there would be a crisis in the bullfighting business. For sure!
Still, bullfighting is present in France, Portugal, Mexico, Venezuela… so it would be great that campaign as the ones who are now “blooming” in Spain would occur in these countries as well.
That´s my opinion. I´m young. I´m Spanish. Join us to end with this harmful tradition!
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
At least those animals selected for the corrida are allowed to live a year longer than those assigned to the slaughterhouse…and they get a chance…
October 13th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
I am Spanish, I don’t like bullfighting. I only went once to the ring and I found it not cruel, but just boring. I wouldn’t spend my money on it. But that doesn’t mean that I want bullfighting banned… What a silly thing to say!
For all these people who say: ” This is disgusting…..bull fighting should be banned This is not a sport its pure evil” or “It makes Spain look like an anomaly in the EU”.
I think it is just plain ignorance. Let me please make few points clear. They won’t change any minds but at least objective true will be heard:
1. Bullfighting is not a Sport. There is no competition and therefore it is not a sport. At least not what in 2010 we understand for sport.
2. Spain may look like an anomaly in the EU but i can tell you bulfighting is not responsible for that.
3. Bullfighting doesn’t encourage cruelty(it is not evil). A matador would be rewarded better if he make the bull suffer less. For example when going to kill the bull a matador that takes more than one shot to kill the bull won’t get any reward at all, and if he needs more than 3 shots (with his sword to kill a 500kg bull) he will be booed by the crowd. A good matador will kill the bull in once, targeting a specific point that would kill the animal in seconds.
4. The Lidia Bull (the breed used for bullfighting) doesn’t produce meat, doesn’t produce milk and there is no farming use for that breed of cow/bull. without bull fighting, sadly the Lidia Bull would be extinct.
5. Lidia Bulls are raised and treated like “Royal Familly” for most of their lives. They live 4 years and the agony last 15 minutes. Apart from those 15 minutes, those bulls live better than you and me.
They are trained to be brave, just like athletes and huge amounts of money go into their breed and training. Some of you should go to a Lidia bull farm. You will be very surprised.
6. Spain is a country that knows a lot about banning… until recently political parties were banned, reunions, gatherings and demonstrations were banned, trade unions were banned, divorce was banned, religions other than roman catholic were banned.
For me the worse solution is always banning things. Let’s leave old people enjoy their “fiesta” and don’t worry the new generations will little by little stop attending the bullfights. It is already happening without a ban, and I prefer this way.
That´s my opinion. I´m young. I´m Spanish… And I am tired of hearing “rainbow warriors” wanabes asking to ban something they dont even understand.
October 14th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Oh bullspit! Who else, besides the Spanish will enter the ring, and dance to the aggression of the aggressor. Have you ever seen a European other than a Spaniard, an African, a North American, etc. with the sex glands bold enough to risk their lives to prove their worth?
Macho man, this is what they mean, and there are parts of America where its is whispered in the streets and alleys of big cities, “One thing that certain people are really afraid of, besides a dog, is a drunk Hispanic with a knife. That’s the blood, the national dance of Spain which is danced on the tops of tables, and the beautiful senoritas which make it all worth dying for. Get rid of Rambo, cattle riding, bronco busing, fox hunting, and the inequalities of women.
Olay Capn Z Chicago
November 25th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Capn z.
You are an ingnoran!
Just two things to point out:
1. Who goes enter the ring? Australians, Japaneses, French (There is quite a lot of tradition for bullfighting in soth France, actully) even americans and many more. In fact more than a third of ticket sales are tourist!
2. I am not more scared about a drunk Hispanic with a nife than a drunk withe american a chinnese or african or indian with a nife. If you do you have a problem.
The rest of your comment is just nonsense, no need to reply.
Man, come to Spain and enjoy culture food and people! That only if can get your racist ideas out of your mind
December 1st, 2010 at 6:41 am
Oh I get it, yous can take our women, but your women are off limits, unless we pay the price of prostitution. Actually, I was working on a report for school, and this was my first contribution to the world of bullfighting. I speak the truth, forgive me for insulting your pride, but I will not apologize for being an American.
My views have changed since September. One, I will never attend a bullfight, because of the chauvinistic treatment which is given to the women who deserve the same opportunity to participate in bullfighting.
Second, I lost all of my respect for bullfighters after learning that the top matadors are famous enough to refuse to be included in the same show as a woman.
Finally, my prayers to Our Lady of Hope include a wish that these women abandon the male pimps who exploit them, and instead create their own women bullfighting business. It will happen eventually, there are more educated women in the world every day, and your circus will eventually be banned or give way to other more democratic administrations.
I would love to go to Spain, for the purpose of visiting with the gypsies, the town of Basque where the language of the devil is spoken, and to learn some more guitar and possibly enjoy some gypsy dancing.
Come and enjoy Spain really means please pretend to like what we decide is our culture, when it is really something from another land. It also means pay a lot for something, tip the many hands who reach out for money instead of to welcome you, and mix amongst tourists and business people. Sounds like a lot of Payo.
Racist? Let me tell you something Don Quixote, the only Spanish I have ever known in America look down on Latinos with darker complexions than them. The Spanish, with their inquisition, the rape of colonies and indigenous north and south America, and the way they portray Spaniards upon the spanish television programs as all light, rich, and as if they were living in the days of castles has been one of the reasons for other latinos throughout the world to feel inferior, and to bow down to what you present as a superior holy power.
God Bless America
December 16th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Capn Z –
are you serious?! I really hope this is all a big joke cos otherwise you’ve really depressed me! Do people like you really exist?
You quite obviously don’t have a clue what you’re talking about regarding bullfighting so i won’t even bother go there and did you really say:”the town of Basque where the language of the devil is spoken” and “The Spanish, with their inquisition, the rape of colonies and indigenous north and south America…” etc?!
I’m so shocked and horrified by you i’m speechless!
Please for all our sakes, stay in your beloved America!
Matador; maestro, enhorabuena nicely argued but i really don’t know why you bothered..!
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:43 pm
tradition…I get it, it is important, but some of it has got to go! Bullfighting is one of them…if you are a part of this tradition, sport, art form…whatever…one day you will die…your soul will awake in the eternal resting place of Bulls…whenever they feel the need for “tradition” ( making money) they will gouge you with their great horns. As you bleed out, eyes wide with terror, he may gouge you again and watch you fall as you continue to spew blood from your mouth and nose…then he will come and rip of your ears (faster than cutting them with a knife, lucky you) and fling them into his crowd of brave comrades with triumph….his tradition will live on …for it is eternal in death.
November 2nd, 2011 at 9:29 am
bull fighting is wrong i am english i have been to spain i live in spain and to be truthful i was shocked with the LACK of respect for the animals that you sloughter and treat so badly it is the reason why you people are so primative it should be banded and never ever talked about aging capn z it is discracful that you support this mass murder.
November 2nd, 2011 at 9:30 am
not primative wrong word peoploe are so violent