Corrida de Toros

Yes..I went to a corrida de toros, otherwise known as a bullfight. Was it fun?...ehh…Was it interesting?..ehhh…Would I do it again?...ehhh…Was it hard to watch?..mehh…Was it bloody?...meehhhhhh…Did I like it?...eh. These simple yes or no questions just can’t be answered with a one word response. I definitely realized today that there is more to this cultural event than I could have imagined. I had so many misconceptions as I’m sure the world does too, and some of these were correct and some seemed more like a myth after the fight was over.


Let’s start at the beginning…


For the past two weeks the ISA group has been talking about going to a bullfight in Spain. This is like one of the few places I the world where you can see an event like this. At first I didn’t want to go. Who in their right mind wants to see a torture like this? What the hell are these people thinking? I was surprised, however, by the amount of kids that actually wanted to go. Even the girls! For a while I contemplated disassociating myself with these barbarians, but I needed a better reason to leave other than judging based on an opinion. The last bullfight in Sevilla for the 2010 season was Sunday September 26th. Everyone was getting tickets to go and I decided not to pass up an opportunity to get to know the group better and experience something I might never have the chance to do again. Fine world. You win. I’ll do it.


My roommate and I went yesterday to the Plaza de Toros to buy the tickets for Sunday. As we approached the bull ring we realized there were hundreds of people walking towards the arena as well. It looked like a sporting event! They were selling water on the sidewalks, snacks, pillows to sit on, programs, and little trinkets one could buy to remember this event. We walked into the arena, looked at a seating chart, and got in line to buy our tickets for Sunday. Well when we get to the ticket window the guy says that the fight on Sunday is almost sold out and there are no seats next to each other in the whole arena. I may be brave enough to attend a corrida, but there is no way in god’s green earth I am sitting by myself to watch/not watch the event. He then continues to tell us that there are a lot of seats together for the corrida today and that we should buy tickets today instead. With a line of people behind us we didn’t have time to talk about our options and what we wanted to do. Almost impulsively we just handed him the cash. It was like a magnet. I don’t think I even remember making a decision in my mind. It was like someone made the decision for me and compelled me to just get the fricken ticket. With the tickets in our hands we walked to the portal and up the stairs to our seats. As skittish as I was at first at just the thought of a bullfight, Jesse and I looked like kids on Christmas as we climbed the stairs. I had a smile on my face, butterflies in my stomach, and trembling hands holding my red ticket of death. Was I actually excited? No way right? I know. Weird.


We find our seats and admire the bullring. It was huge! A dirt ring in the middle and hundreds of spectators all waiting for the show. Everything was very elegant, except for the seats of course. Fricken hard concrete with little numbers painted on them. I suddenly realized what the little pillows on sale outside were for. About 5 minutes later the matadors, picadors, toreros, horses, and other persons of importance entered the ring. They walk around to get the crowd going then the fight begins. Little did I know however that there are many people involved in the fight with the bull and not just the matador. The corrida works like this…


There are about 5 or 6 people called “toreros” who are like wanna be matadors. They are almost like matadors in training. Their job is to tire the bull out a little bit before the actual matador comes out. They have colorful cloth cape things they wave at the bull and obviously the bull runs at them.


Then we have the “picador.” These are two guys mounted on two different horses who have a long metal stick in their hand. Their job, stab the bull with the sharp stick then pull it out. Honestly they probably have the hardest job. They have to control their horse, (which is blindfolded so it won’t run from the bull) maneuver this long piece of metal, and try not to get their legs stabbed by the horns of the bull. I felt bad for the horses too. They have no idea what the heck is goin’ on!! They have armor on but they are blind folded!! A giant bull comes running at them and they just have to stand there. I applaud those brave horses.


Next come the craziest people ever. I believe they might be called “picadores” as well because they also stick the bull with metal objects, yet in a very different way. They have to run AT the bull with shorter metal sticks covered in feathers or something and stab the bull in the back. Their goal is to get the metal objects to stay in the bull, not just poke it and run away. Nope. They gotta like jam those things in there nice and good so they don’t come out. I’m not sure if those people are literally crazy for running at a pissed off bull with metal objects, or extremely brave. Either way, it’s part of the show.


Finally after the bull is super pissed off the matador comes out. His task, kill the bull. Simple enough, but he’s gotta do it in a big flashy way with lots of turns and twirls and other fancy footwork skills. He “dances” with the bull until it’s too tired to run anymore. He then sticks a sword in the bull and the bull dies either from loss of blood or exhaustion.


I must go on one small tangent here just to express the differences between Spain and America. Here at the bullring the bravest person in the room is the matador. He is the pinnacle of everything. He risks his life daily for the love of a sport. Yet for being such a brave person the costumes they wear are intense. They have sequences all over their clothes, pink high socks, high pants, and shoes comparable to those of a ballet. And the way they walk is also very interesting. Very tall and straight with precise movements. If someone walked around like this in the States, he would immediately get laughed at. Made fun of for his clothing despite the sport. However I know for a fact that those laughing at him wouldn’t have enough guts to do his job. I would love to see those people in a ring with a raging bull.


Now that we all know who does what, flashback to when we find our seats and the show begins. The 5 or 6 toreros enter the ring to be followed a minute later by a running bull. They run around and play with the bull and then the men on horses come to join them. They stab the bull like two times then the crazy running metal stick men follow. They do their thing and stick the bull with their colorful sticks. From where we were sitting in the arena, we couldn’t really see too much blood. Obviously it was there, but it wasn’t dripping or spewing out all over the place, which is exactly the image I had in my head of what was to happen. Every now and then the sun would shine on the bull just right and we could catch a glimpse of red on the bull. Another good indicator of the amount of blood there actually was, were the metal sticks sticking out of the bull with the feathers on them. They started out being yellow, green, and white then slowly turned to a solid dark color.


Enter matador. Everyone leaves the ring and a hush comes over the audience as the bull and matador stare at each other. Then they dance to the death. Not gonna lie the matadors have some pretty fancy moves. I thought every move was pretty impressive, but apparently I just can’t tell them apart. Whenever the “regulars” who actually know what to look for during a bull fight saw something they liked from the matador, everyone shouted OLÉ! I’m still not sure when an “ole” is needed for a move or not, but they only did it for certain moves..and the whole arena did it in unison too which makes me want to know even more now what the heck was so different between the cool move and the one he just did like a minute ago!


After about 10 min of dancing the matador decides to give the final blow. He aims his sword at the charging bull and jabs the WHOLE thing into the bull. Then as if on cue the toreros run out and tease the bull again with their capes. The bull then too tired to live, falls to the ground and dies. The crowd stands and applauds the matador. Then 3 very decorated horses come out into the arena followed by some people who look like janitors. They attach the dead bull the 3 horses and then drag the bull out of the arena.


Everyone takes a 2 minute break and the whole thing starts over again. 6 times. Yep. Didn’t know they killed 6 bulls. I thought it was only one! But I suppose only 20 minutes of entertainment isn’t that much.


To be honest the bull fight wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It wasn’t a gory blood-bath. The bulls aren’t tortured before the fight. And towards the end sometimes you’re not really sure who to root for..the matador or the bull. The meat of the bulls goes to markets and orphanages so it’s not like it’s wasted. I suppose my opinion has changed. Maybe this really is something cultural that most people don’t get. There are so many people opposed to this tradition, however most of the people who don’t like it aren’t even from Spain. I was the same way, but I now realize that it’s not my place to really say if it’s right or wrong. I’m not from Spain, even though I would love to be, so I don’t feel it’s fair for me to judge this event as an outsider. This isn’t my country and therefore I should have no say in what they can and cannot like. I hate when people judge without understanding. I’ll admit I’m guilty of judging without understanding one more than one occasion, but something about this bull fight opened my eyes today. I still may not be comfortable with the idea of death and pain, but somehow I’m not as cynical as I once was.


Spain, you continue to change me in ways I never thought possible. I grow in character and as an intellectual. I find myself questioning all the things I knew before I came here. Will I be the same person I was when I come back? Absolutely not. :)