¡Olé! - La Corrida de Toros

Once again, I am VERY behind on my blog!  I've been traveling a lot and I've been sick a lot and I had TWO weeks of midterms.  So I have some excuses, I suppose.  I'm going to try to be updating a lot more now though since I will be having some extra free time!

Over a month ago (yes, I'm that far behind!) I went to a bullfight!  The season ends at the end of September, so luckily I got to Spain just in time!  And I have to say, this is one of my favorite things that I've done in Spain!  I did not really know what to expect, so I just went in with an open mind, and I left with one of the most amazing cultural experiences I've had here! 

Plaza de Toros de Sevilla - one of the oldest bullfighting rings in Spain!

Me at the Plaza de Toros!

Yes...the sun was shining in my face the ENTIRE time! 
Welcome to Spain...

A bullfighter in the ring!

A Spanish bullfight (corrida de toros) features five bulls and so there are actually five separate fights.  Each bull is larger and more aggressive than the last, and with each fight, the bullfighters are more daring and take more risks, so there is an intensity to the whole thing!  Each fight is split up into three parts.  

First, the bull runs out into the ring.  Then the toreros (bullfighters) come out and stand around the bullring with their magenta capes, waving them at the bull and forcing him to run around the ring towards them.  This starts the process of tiring the bull.  Then the picadores (bullfighters on horseback with lances) come out and fight with the bull.  The horses wear protective armor and blindfolds to keep them safe from the bull, who charges at one of the horses, and is stabbed in the neck with the lance as he hits the horse.  This is the first injury given to the bull to weaken him.  

The bull running into the ring!

A torero and his cape!

The toreros and the bull in the first stage of the bullfight

The picador stabbing the bull with his lance

[As a side note, just to demonstrate how dangerous this sport truly is, there was an accident during this stage of the fourth fight.  As the bull charged towards one of the horses, he lifted the horse up from the belly with his horns and actually flipped the horse and picador over!  The picador fell on the ground and the horse kind of landed on top of him!  It was a really scary moment and the audience was just gasping.  A group of workers ran out to help the picador and lift the horse up.  A group of bullfighters used their capes to distract the bull as the motionless picador was carried out of the ring.  And then the show went on, as if nothing had happened.  I couldn't imagine being a bullfighter and just continuing without knowing if my fellow fighter was going to be ok - I assume they are a pretty close-knit group of people who work together.  But luckily, later on in the night, the injured picador came out to show he was alright and was received with raucous applause!]

The bull flipping over the horse!!!!!!

The picador laying on the ground with the horse on him!  SCARY!

In the second stage, the banderilleros (bullfighters who use colorful barbed sticks called banderillas) come out.  There are three banderilleros in total and each holds two sticks, one in each hand.  One at a time, they charge toward the bull, jump up and stab the barbed sticks into the bulls shoulders, and then run away before getting gored!  It's a pretty daring and impressive task!  These barbed sticks (six in all) further weaken the bull.  The white ones even turned red from the blood that was spilled!

A banderillero preparing to charge towards to bull!

Stabbing the bull with the banderillas!

The third and final phase consists of the final showdown between the bull and the matador (which literally means 'killer').  The matador holds a red cape (Bulls are colorblind, like all animals, so the color red has nothing to do with angering the bull.  The real reason the cape is red is to hide the bull's blood that gets all over it!) and a sword and performs a series of passes with the bull called faenas.  He stands very close to the bull and just waves his cape to the side, which the bull follows.  They just slowly spin around, making these passes.  When a pass is very good, the crowd shouts "¡Olé!" - however, I don't really know what constitutes a good pass.  It seemed to be whenever there was a close call and the bull almost hit the matador as he passed under the cape.  So the crowd seemed to be applauding the matador's smooth moves in avoiding the bull...maybe.  All of these passes tire the bull further, until the matador makes his final move and stabs the bull with his sword.  Then, the other bullfighters come out and form a small circle around the bull, waving their capes and making the bull spin around quickly.  This is too much for the injured bull and he eventually sits down.  Then, a bullfighter takes a dagger and stabs him in the head, causing him to roll over dead onto his side.  Then a team of horses runs into the ring, the dead bull is tied to their harness and is dragged out of the ring behind them. 
 

Las faenas...¡Olé!

The final showdown!

The final blow... :(

A dead bull being dragged out of the ring

The whole corrida de toros was just amazing in every way.  It was so impressive to watch all the bullfighters  - they are athletes as much as they are artists.  They exhibit extreme bravery in the face of a dangerous sport, but they also execute their moves with such precision and artistry.  The sport in general just made me feel like I was transported back in time!  The barbarism of it all (I did feel somewhat bad watching these bulls knowing that in a few minutes they would be killed...) made it seem like I was watching a gladiatorial battle from 2000 years ago.  And the tradition and pageantry of it all (from the lavish costumes of the bullfighters to the strict order of the events and formality of everything) made it seem like a royal ceremony from the 18th Century as well.  It was just such a strange juxtaposition and it's really quite difficult to explain.  And just being a part of the crowd was incredible!  Looking out into the sea of people and seeing the fluttering of Spanish fans, puffs of cigar smoke, hearing shouts of "¡Olé!" and gasps of awe and horror as the events of the corrida unfolded...it was just incredible.  That's all I can say!