Bullfighting and it's popularity today
...major fight, you will notice this team is made up of quite a few people. Firstly there are several peons, junior bullfighters under the orders of the main toreo, who is the matador. The peons come out to distract the bull with great capes, manoeuvre him into the desired position and so on. Then come the horseback-mounted picadores. Charged by the bull, which tries to eviscerate the horse, the picador shoves his lance into the withers of the bull – an activity that weakens and angers the bull. Animal-lovers may take small consolation from the fact that since the 19th century the horses at least have been protected by heavy padding. The peons then return to the scene to measure their courage against the (hopefully) charging bull. The picador is shortly followed by the banderilleros. At a given moment during the fight, one or two banderilleros will race towards the bull and attempt to plunge a pair of colourfully decorated banderilleros (short prods with harpoon- style ends) into the bull, again aiming for the withers. This has the effect of spurring the animal into action – the matador will then seek to use this to execute more fancy manoeuvres. Then there is the matador himself. His dress could be that of a flamenco dancer. At its simplest, in country fiestas, it is generally a straight-forward combination of black trousers or tights, white shirt and black vest. At its most extravagant, the traje de luces (suit of lights) can be an extraordinary display of bright, spangly colour – name is apt. All the toreros, with the occasional exception of the matadors, wear the black montera (the Mickey Mouse ears hat). The torero’s standard weapons are the estoque or espada (sword) and the heavy silk and percale capa (cape). You will notice, however, that the matador, and the matador alone, employs a different cape with the sword – a smaller piece of cloth held with a bar of wood called the muleta and used for a number of different passes. La Corrida To summarise all that takes place in one day of a corrida is no easy task. In many cases, corridas are held over several days, or even weeks, and the whole fiesta is known as the feria. The bulls are transported from their farms to a location near the ring, often days in advane. In Madrid, they are kept at an Andalucian-style ranch in the Casa de Campo know as Batan In some towns, the bulls are bought to another point in town from where they are let loose on the morning of the corrida to charge to the ring. The encierro, as it is known, in Pamplona was made famous by Earnest Hemminway, but score of towns across the country celebrate it. Barriers are set up along a route to the ring, and some people feel inclined to run with the bulls. It’s a dangerous business and people get hurt, sometimes mortally. When the bulls arrive, the cuadrillas, president and breeders get together to look over the animals and draw lots to see who is going to fight with which one. It depends a little on how many breeders are represented, how many matadors and teams there are and so on. The selected balls are later huddled into darkened corrals, where they await their moment. The bullfight generally begins at 6 pm, hence the title of Hemingway’s manual on the subject, Death in the Afternoon. As a rule six toros and three matadors are on the day’s card. If any bulls are considered not up to scratch, they are booed off (at this point the president will display a green handkerchief) and replacements brought on. Each fight takes about 10 to 15 minutes. When the fateful moment comes, the corral is opened. Light gushes in and the bull charges out, sensing a chance to escape. You wonder if it feels disappointed as it barrels out into the ring to be confronted by the peons, darting about and flashing their rose-and-yellow coloured capes at the heaving beast. The matador then appears and executes his faens (moves) with the bull. To go into the complexities of what constitutes a fine faena would require a book.Suffice to say, the more closely and calmly the toreo works with the bull, pivoting and dancing before the bull’s horns, the greater will be the crowds approbation. After a little of this, the matador strides off and leaves the stage first to the picadores, then the banderilleros, before retuning for another session. At various moments during the fight, the brass band will hit some stirring notes, adding to the air of grand spectacle. The moves must be carried out in certain parts of ring, which is divided into three parts: the medios (centre); trecios (an intermediate, chalked-off ring); and tablas (the outer ring).When the bull seems tired out and unlikely to give a lot more, matador chooses his moment for the kill. Placing himself head-on, he aims to sink the sword cleanly into the animal’s neck (estocada) for an instant kill. It’s easier said than done.A good performance followed by a clean kill will have the crowd on its feet waving handkerchiefs in the air in clear appeal to the president to award the matador an oreja (ear) of the animal. The president usually waits to assess the crowd’s enthusiasm before flopping a white handkerchief onto his balcony. If the fight was exceptional, the matador might cortar dos orejas – cut two ears off. On rare occasions the matador may be awarded the tail as well. What he does with them when he gets home is anyone’s guess.The sad carcass is meanwhile dragged out by a team of dray-horses and the sand raked about in preparation for the next bull. The meat ends up in the butchers.When and WhereCorridas are mainly a spring and summer activity, but it is occasionally possible to see at other times. The season begins more or less officially in the first week of February with the fiestas of Valdemorillo and Ajalvir, near Madrid, to mark the feast day of San Blas. Virtually all encierros and corridas are organised as part of the town’s fiesta or othe...