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Published: September 29th 2009
It turned out to be a man in a costume mercilessly killing a bull, or rather several men in costumes injuring a bull (to the uproarious cheers of the crowd) followed by a man taunting a bull and then killing it. The interesting part about it was that I wasn't terribly disturbed by it all at the time, but I was more awed by the spectacle and focused on getting a good shot with my super-cool zoom lens to really let it all sink in. It's not that I didn't like it, in fact I found it fascinating: the show of it all, the engagement of the crowd, the extent to which it reminded me of a strange mixture of American sporting events... Seriously, that part was weird.
Parallel #1: Everyone cheered when the matadors entered the ring, much like people do when their preferred team emerges at the beginning of any sort of game. No one, however, cheered for the bull.
Parallel #2: It was very much a team sport. Everyone had their roles, there are actually rules to a bullfight, and the crowd gets angry if these rules are broken. He's out of bounds!
Parallel #3:
And your starting lineup is...
Men in costumes parade forward to the applause of the audience.The interim between bullfights (there were 6 total- 2 bulls for each of 3 matadors) was a lot like the time between innings in baseball. The ground crew came out and raked out the bloody dirt (so the next bull wouldn't get any hints as to what was coming?), and people got up to stretch and to presumably buy refreshments. I myself, I'm now rather embarrassed to say, was eating sunflower seeds.
Parallel #4: There was a band, except this band could play while the fighting was going on. When things got into a groove, the band picked up, and it almost felt like we were in a dramatic movie. At one point the band even managed to time it so that it hit a dramatic last note as the last stab was made and the bull went down. I'm sure I'm lacking in terminology here, but you get the idea.
Parallel #5: Quiet for the start! There was a lot of "shushing" going on. Again with the drama and suspense.
What else... they wore "uniforms", there was lots of cheering, paramedics were standing by, the winner got really really cocky and strutted around the ring, the
Charging
The role of the man on the horse was to stab the bull if it ever got outside the circle. I think. losing team always died... er, wait, I guess that's where the parallels end.
During the whole thing I kept thinking that if you forget that it's a bull, forget that it's a living animal being killed for entertainment, then it's not so bad. If you can forget. It was like being transported in time to a more savage, primitive era, with the brutality of it, with the way that people cheered loudly when the bull was injured and the loudest when it fell for the last time... but in the same way, I'm sure some would argue that it's the exact opposite of savage and primitive, and instead the epitome of culture and control over nature. I can see that side, but I would ultimately say that I do not agree.
During the fight we were seated next to a somewhat unfriendly but informative woman from Connecticut with a slight obsession for Spain and bullfighting. She was not exactly happy, but willing, I suppose, to answer all of our questions about what was going on. Why was the crowd waving the handkerchiefs? They were petitioning to have one of the bull's ears cut off for the matador since
Going in circles...
Those colored things on the bull's back were stabbed into him... all part of the show. he did such a fantastic job. Why were they waving them a second time? They decided he deserved both, apparently a rarity in the bull ring of Sevilla. She helped my level of appreciation, to be sure. When Erica apologetically admitted at one point, "Sorry about all the questions. This is our first bullfight, can you tell?" and she responded, "Well that's fine, there has to be a first before there can be others," I kept quiet. It was interesting, but there will be no others. I think I'll stick to baseball.
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Gus
non-member comment
No me gustan los toros
Please, don't think all spanish people love bulfights. Actually I think the vast majority of us dislike it. I found as cruel and stupid as most of you do. My grandfather loves it though, but I think young people here show litlle or no interest at all in them. I know its a part of spanish ¿culture? or at least the image others countries have, but i'd feel really happy if this was lost forever. Have fun.