A Controversial Art Form - Bullfighting in Spain

Before I begin this entry, I have to mention two things:

First of all, this is my second post of the day, and one of many in the past couple of days. Please check below and the monthly archives at the bottom for the complete listing of entries.

Secondly, the topic at hand for this entry is a little graphic, and controversial to many. I omitted a number of shots that I though might stir the pot a bit too much. But the reality is this: bulls die during bullfights. That's how they've done it for many, many years. It is tradition. I just wanted to make a disclaimer beforehand.

Onto the Plaza de Toros, where we entered to watch a night of bullfighting. The whole town was abuzz with the idea of the bullfights today, since pretty much every American didn't want to leave Spain without seeing something the country is somewhat known for (although, I learned that the biggest bullring is actually in Mexico City, Mexico). Here we are climbing the stairs to our small seats.

 A view from my seat. It was a B-E-A-U-tiful day that day. One of the warmest we've had in Granada, and much warmer than it has been any day afterward.

 The band sounds their horns, and out come all the people who will be performing during the night (minus the bulls).

 The guys with the really high pants and the round rimmed hats are the matadors, known in Spain as toreros. There were 5 on display this night, 1 of which is a Granada native and one (the white hat, tall guy) being only 16 or 17 years old. Here they are welcoming the crowd.

 I had learned a lot about bullfighting in my Spanish culture class here, but it was completely different seeing it in person. The culture and tradition of it really stood out. Beforehand, a lot of people were very worried about the violence aspect; and rightfully so. It is pretty sad to watch the bull die, and at some points it does seem a bit cruel. I personally see both sides of the coin, but I tend to side with the more unpopular vote in Spain - I'm pro-bullfighting. I look at it this way: Many animals, from the time they are born to the time they die (which may be a matter of days/months) are kept caged up and are only bred for their meat or what they can produce. They are treated poorly from the get-go. Bulls are not like this. From the time they are chosen to be a bull (and not a castrated bull), they are treated like kings. They are fed well, they are given a large amount of land in which to live. They live lavishly until the day they fight in the bullring, and it is considered an honorable death. Also, the bull doesn't go to waste: it is immediately butchered and sold to the local restaurants and eaten that very night.

Yes, it does seem bad, but I guess at the end of the day, I'd rather be a bull and go out in style than be a chicken in a box.

Anyway, onto more photos.

 My friend Jason in the white tee and sunglasses, sitting by himself. He got a ticket late, and had to buy an expensive seat.

 One of the interesting things I wasn't expecting is that there are many different forms of bullfighting. This night alone we saw 3: this guy who stayed on horseback nearly the entire time, a traditional fight that incorporates a lot of different people and the torero, and one guy that does all the work by himself.

 This type of fight was really interesting. I think I can call it a controlled chaos - as you can see above, he lets the bull get very close, and has the horse do a sidestep gallop, literally feet (and sometimes inches) from the bull. Many times I thought the bull was going to get the horse, but every time he would slip away.

 So as I mentioned before, there is generally many people helping out the torero. Theres about 4 of these little passageways in the plaza, and each one has a guy with a pink colored cape. He uses the cape to taunt the bull away from something, or towards something.

 A blurry example of how close the bull got to the horse.

 Here's a quick rundown on how each fight goes:

Bull comes out. Runs around a bit and the dudes with pink capes get him running a bit. Eventually the torero comes out and taunts the bull. Next, helpers of the torero pick up two small poles that they attempt to hook into the back of the bull. As shown above, they aim for right behind the head. In this instance, the torero put in two of the daggers(?) on his own, but generally he has others do it. When they both stick, everyone claps. If he misses both, everyone whistles (Spanish booing).

I forgot to mention a point. Before any of this happens, the two armored horses come out, as you saw a couple photos previously. The bull will full blown run into the side of the horse, but it is pretty well protected. These horses even have coverings over their eyes, because if they didn't have them, they would freak out and most likely hell would ensue. The job of the people mounted on these horses is to make the first puncture into the bull with their long lance.

Okay, so the bull is out, tiring, it has been lanced, 2-3 helpers have placed small dagger-like rods in its back that hang down. By now, the bull is bleeding pretty bad and starting to show some signs of weakness. Not every bull is built equally. Some were still pretty fresh at this point. But, generally, they weaken. At this point, the torero comes out with his red cape, and his sword. He gets very close to the bull and begins to have the bull chase the red cape multiple times, like you would expect. He does this many many times, until eventually the bull can no longer stand. It kneels and eventually lays down before the torero.

 At this point, the torero takes his sword, and in one quick motion, inserts his blade completely in the bulls back, and, if done properly, the bull falls over, and the crowd cheers. Yes, it does seem really bad the first time. And yes, sometimes the torero misses (this is the worst) or sometimes the bull doesn't die when the sword is put in.

Once the bull is down, another helper comes by and ensures the death of the bull by using a small dagger and puncturing the head of the animal. As tradition here calls for, the tail and ears are generally cut off and thrown into the crowd. The bullfighter walks around proudly, shakes his hat at the crowd, and people cheer. The bull is then dragged by two horses out of the ring, the dirt is raked fresh, and a new fight begins at the sound of the band's horns.

 Here you can see how close the bull gets to the torero. Pretty crazy.

 This shot, although somewhat blurry, shows the mayor of Granada in the middle. He actually has a job during the fights. Well, rather, after the fights. For each fight that was done well, all of the crowded will shake white handkerchiefs in the air, signalling the mayor to throw out his handkerchief over the edge, signalling a fight well done. Sometimes, he will do two. Sometimes, zero.

Hard to tell, but the seats were very tight. People's knees were in your back nearly the whole time. Also, with the sun setting, although pretty, it was pretty darn hot.

 Again, not a great photo, but this guy was by far the best of the night. This is the torero from Granada, and he did all the work himself. He lanced the bull, put in all the daggers (I feel so bad I can't remember what they're called, I learned it...sorry professor!) and eventually killed the bull. I actually felt really entertained by him, whereas the other bullfighters made it feel more like a process.

 Bullfighter with tail and ears in hand, looking for eager fans who want to...take it home? I guess? Not sure what the next step is once you get a bull tail home.

 Armored horse guy.

 Notice the covering over the eyes of the horse. Pretty scary when the bull hits the horse, even though you know it is protected.

 Here's a shot of the band. I don't really remember them playing many songs, more just one note, really loudly, signalling the beginning of a new fight.

 Here's the young matador, doing his thing.

 An example of the bull going down from exhaustion.

 And a job well done, says the mayor.

 I excluded quite a few photos. I figured no one really wants to see a dead bull on the ground. It is sad, for sure, there is no denying it. No one likes to see an animal get killed. Strangely, after one or two, you get mostly desensitized to it, and you begin cheering for the bullfighter (where in the beginning, you kinda want to see the bull take someone down).

Anyway, heres a shot as people are filtering out (above).

 Some guy.

 Can you tell that I like this beer yet?

 A cool night shot I got of the Plaza de Toros as we were walking away.

It was an interesting night. Some people thought they'd cry, but really we all left feeling a little better about the entire ordeal, strangely. Through pictures and on paper it sounds horrible, but when you can take in the culture and feel the tradition in the air, it begins to feel okay.

Ta'luego