Hola part 5! Toro Toro Toro

Ole, Ole, Ole!

La Plaza De Toros - I got to see my first bullfight and I thought it was fantastic. I'd definitely be a regular at these events if I lived in Spain. However, I was a little confused at first. Before going to Barcelona, I read that bullfighting was outlawed in the city in 2004. Apparently in 2005, this ruling was overturned. When we arrived, there were many protesters making as much noise as they could to deter people from attending the bullfight. A big line of Policia prevented them from actually confronting those who bought tickets. From the looks of ticket window, the protesters weren't above throwing red paint (to symbolize blood) at bull fight attendees.

La Plaza de Toros was an old ring, just how one would imagine. It's completely circular, has a red fence, and typical stadium seating. The true local fans mostly took seats in the shade in the lower levels of the ring. Tourists had the cheap seats in the upper deck. I was sort of familiar with bull fighting from lectures in Spanish class, and watching some of the San Fermin festival on TV while in Barcelona.

A bullfight goes like this. The bull is released into the ring and it has lots of energy. A group of rookie matadors get into the ring and tire it out by getting it to make full charges from one side of the ring to the other. Then blind-folded and armored horses are brought out. The bull is provoked into hitting the horses and literally lifting them off the ground. This tires the bull out even more. Next, 3 more rookie bullfighters are brought out. Their goal is to jab three pairs of short blades into the bulls back, piercing its lungs and causing them to fill with blood. This happens pretty quickly. Finally after the bull has been sufficiently tired out, El Matador enters the ring. If the matador is good, he can get the tired bull to continue fighting. There is a graceful and elegant art to this part of the fight. The matador must get the bull as close to him as possible, using sweeping spins and fluid movement. After this happens for about 10 minutes, the matador goes in for the kill. The bull gets one final charge, as the matador attempts to stab the bulls heart through it's back. If done right, the bull drops immediately. If done wrong, the bull suffers and the crowd is upset. The final 2 of the 6 fights I saw showed the worst and best bullfights.

The second to last matador could not get his bull to react at all. The bull would make one pass and just give up. The crowd will yell "Ole" if they're into it, but this matador wasn't getting any of that. You could hear a pin drop in the stadium. When the matador finally went for his kill, he missed the final stab 4 times in a row. Everyone was whistling and berating the hapless matador. Finally, he had to stab the poor bull in the back of head, which resulted in the bull vomiting blood all over the arena walls before collapsing. That matador hung his head in shame as he exited the ring.

Thank goodness there was one more fight. The final matador put on an incredible show. His bull made constant charges, and the matador used all of his moves to put on a great show. Everyone in the arena was yelling "Ole" and he even received 2 standing ovations before he went for the final kill. The final stab was flawless, and the bull dropped immediately. It was smooth and everyone went nuts. The master of ceremonies awarded the fighter 2 ears (as trophy's). The bull's body was circled around the ring in honor (by horses) and then the matador took his victory lap as women threw their underwear, roses, and scarves at him. That wasn't all though. As we exited the stadium, there was a big commotion on the lower level. The fans got into the ring and were carrying the matador outside on their shoulders. Everyone was going nuts for this guy, and deservedly so.

I saw the highs and lows of the bullfight and I definitely want to see more. I don't really see the ceremony as cruel. The bull has a great life of mating, eating, and growing strong until it enters the ring. The bull is bred to be slaughtered and eaten anyway, and the point of the bull fight is to gracefully kill it. The matadors who ruin the beauty of the fight are mocked and tormented. The matadors who make it beautiful are honored.