Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and several Latin American countries , in which bulls are ritually killed mercilessly but with a slow torturous death. It is NOT a sport and there are no elements of competition or fairplay and is very gory.
Bullfighting is often linked to Rome where Emperor Claudius substituted fighting with animals for gladiators fighting each other. Bullfighting was created in Spain to keep soldiers entertained and occupied after the Moors were ousted.
Religious festivities and royal weddings were celebrated by bullfights where noblemen would ride competing for royal favours. To make it more exciting, the Spanish introduced the practice of fighting on foot around 1726. The modern style of Spanish bullfighting is credited to Juan Belmonte, the greatest matador of all time whose daring and revolutionary style is what most matadors consider ideal to be emulated.
The bullfight we attended in Madrid at the 25,000 seat Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas had three matadors ranging in age between 20 and 28 years having 2 fights with bulls between 4 and 6 years weighing around 500kg.
In the first stage, the matador with help from several assistants called "banderilleros" tested the ferocity of the bull observing the behaviour of the bull while performing a "tanda" or series of passes to impress the crowd.
In the second stage, 2 "picadores" or lancers entered the ring riding on blind-folded horses surrounded by a peto which is a protective mattress-like covering. The bull attacked the horse and gave the picador an opportunity to make several stabs with his lance on the neck muscles of the bull and as a result it was not able to lift its head very high to do the goring giving an edge to the matador. The bull now was also more focused and stayed on a single target rather than charge at everything that moved. Sportsmanlike? I think not.
In the next stage, 3 banderilleros each attempted to plant 2 banderillas, sharp barbed sticks to the bull's shoulders. These angered and invigorated the bull who had been tired by his attacks on the horse and the damage he had taken from the lance.
In the final stage, the matador re-entered the ring alone with a small red cape or "muleta" and a sword. It is a common misconception that the colour red is supposed to anger the bull, but bulls are in fact colourblind. The cape is red to hide the blood. The matador used his cape to attract the bull in a series of passes or tanda to wear the bull down and display style. He demonstrated control by caping the bull close to his body risking being gored or trampled. In the final series of passes, the matador attempted to maneuver the bull into a position to "estocada" ie use the sword in a single thrust to stab it between the shoulder blade and through the aorta or heart. In fight number 4 of the evening when we were there, the matador performed particularly well killing the bull in his first attempt, the crowd petioned the president of the arena to award the matador with an ear of the bull by waving white handkerchiefs. In another fight, the bullfighter needed 6 attempts before final success and the crowd showed displeasure and boo'ed. In both cases, Rose was moaning and not happy at all.
In Spain, popularity for bullfights is decreasing with time and may not last very long. Some regions have banned bullfighting outright while in others, the attendance is so low that they are converting the bullrings to department stores.
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Madrid-Bull Fight part 1by wealthe0w2,919 views
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