The Bullfight

Bullfighting is certainly one of the best known, although at the same time most polemical Spanish popular customs. This Fiesta could not exist without the Toro Bravo, a species of bull of an archaical race that is only conserved in Spain. Formerly this bull's forebears, the primitive urus, were spread out over wide parts of the world. Many civilizations revered to them, the bull-cultus at the Greek island Crete is quite well-known. The Bible reports on sacrifices of bulls in honour to the divine justice. Also in the religious ceremonies of Iberian tribes living in Spain in prehistorical times bulls played an important part. The origins of the Plaza, bullring, probably are not the Roman amphitheaters but the Celt-Iberiantemples where those ceremonies were held. In the province of Soria, close to Numancia, one of them is conserved and it is supposed that there bulls were sacrificed to the Gods. While the religious cults of the bull goes back to Iberians, it were the Greek and Roman influences that converted it into a spectacle. During the middle-ages it was a diversion for the aristocracy to torear on horseback. That was called suerte de cañas. In 18^thcentury this tradition was more or less abandoned and the poorer population invented the bullfight by foot. Francisco Romero was a key-figure in laying the rules for that new sport. For its fans La Corrida is of course rather an art than a sport, not to speak about the challenge of the man fighting against the beast. It is an archaic tradition that has survived in this country, just as the Toro Bravo has done.

What a Corrida is about

If you are not familiar to Corridas, you will find here listed chronologically everything that happens. So you may decide by yourself if you want to see one when you are visiting Spain. A Corrida starts with the paseillo, with everybody involved in the bullfight entering the ring and presenting himself to the public. 2 Alguacilillos, on horseback, direct themselves to the presidency and symbolically ask for the keys to the "puerta de los toriles". Behind that door there are the bulls. With the door being opened and the first bull entering the ring the spectacle starts. It consists of three parts, called tercios, being separated by horn-signals. There are three toreros in each Corrida, by the way, and each will have to torear two bulls.

In the first tercio the bullfighter uses the capote, a quite large rag of purple and yellow color. Later 2 picadores enteron horseback and armed with a sharp lance. The second part is la suerte de banderillas. 3banderilleros have to stick a pair of banderillas into the attacking bull's back. In the final "suerte suprema" the bullfighter uses the muleta, a small red rag. He has to show his faena, his masterity to dominate the bull, and to establish an artistical symbiosis between man and beast. The Corrida ends with the torero killing the bull by his sword.

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Bullfighter in Pamplona

"A bullfight is not covered in the sports sections of newspapers, but in the "Culture" section, because it is not sport, it is arteor espectáculo, a show, like a play or a ballet or an opera." There are three stages that are also called "tercios." The matador and his peones will use their capes to manoeuvre the bull until it sees one of the horses, at which it will charge.

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The picador will receive the bull with his vara, lance or pike, driving it into the bull's enormous neck muscle as it closes in. "When the bull has charged the horse a number of times and been sufficiently weakened, the signal is given for the next tercioto begin.
This is when the banderillas are used, pairs of sticks the length of a man's arm with vicious, harpoon-like points. The banderillas are driven into the bull's neck or back as the bull charges past the banderillero,
Then there is the Final Suerte!"The trumpets sound again and it is time for the suerte suprema, the death of the bull." "With the bull in position, head down, attention fixed on the muleta, the matador lines up his sword for the kill. The animal must now make a final charge as the matador drives the sword between its shoulder blades"

The banderillas need to be driven into the bull's neck or back as the bull charges past the banderillero, after which he is allowed to run away as fast and unelegantly as may be necessary, losing no credit for this." Then there is the Final Suerte!"The trumpets sound again and it is time for the suerte suprema, the death of the bull." "With the bull in position, head down, attention fixed on the muleta, the matador lines up his sword for the kill. The animal must now make a final charge as the matador drives the sword between its shoulder blades"