Bull Fight: He Won an Ear!

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April 27, 2008

I was so tired from the past week that I slept in til 11:30 this morning. It was amazing because I have never been able to sleep that late here! When I got up I messed around with pictures and such on my computer, putting off my paper. I finally started to write it, but then I needed to shower and it was time to eat lunch. After I was done eating, I wrote the first of four papers.

Then it was time to get ready for our bull fight that was going to happen! I met up with Katie and Mary Ellen, and we went in and found our seats my Julie. I was really excited to see this after last weekend’s was cancelled. At the beginning, everyone involved during the day came out in a procession.

Then it was ready to start with the first matador, Agustín de Espartinas, and the first of six bulls, Costurito. During a bull fight, the matadors go out and try to get the bulls going with the pink and yellow cap, really close to their bodies. Then two guys on different horses, whose eyes and ears are covered and wearing armor protection, come out and the bulls go after them, while the guy sticks the bull’s neck with a pole. Then the picadors come out and put six spike/pole things in the neck of the bull. It is back to the matador to taunt the bull with the red cap, before trying to kill the bull. Espartinas successfully killed the bull after a couple attempts, and the horses came out to drag the bull away.

Next up was Fernando del Toro and Fabuloso. He had a little trouble killing the bull, but eventually got him. The last matador was Abel Valls, and the third bull was Colillo. Valls had quite a hard time killing the bull, and he was even lifted up by the bull momentarily.

Once the matadors go through their first bulls, they start a second round with their second bull. Espartinas was up first against Casita. Nothing special, but he got the job done. Then del Toro fought Granadino. This was a very exciting fight. When del Toro went to kill the bull, he did it so well, he was able to taunt the bull to death. The crowd loved his show, and he was awarded an ear of Granadino. Sometimes they throw the ear into the crowd, but he walked around the ring and raised it, meaning it was for all of us there. That was really cool to see, because it was the only award we saw.

The sixth bull, Acusado, was quite a challenge for Valls. He didn’t fall for the cap moves like normal, so it made for a long match. Twice when Valls tried to kill Acusado, he was lifted into the air. One time it looked like he might have gotten hurt, so people came out to check on him while Acusado was distracted. But he was a tough matador, and finally was able to kill the bull, despite its never wanting to give-up. The bull fight was definitely a lot of fun. It was too bad my parents couldn’t have seen it.

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