Bullfighting

The Plaza de Toros in Madrid is an open-air stadium seating about 30,000 people. To give you a sense of scale, the ring is about 50 meters across. When you buy tickets, you can choose "sun" or "shade." On this day in early June, the ambient air temperature was 35 degrees Centigrade (nearly 90). On the sunny side of the stadium, it was approaching 40 degrees. The sunny side of the stadium fills at the last moment.

These Bullfights occurred during a period known as San Isidro, for the patron saint of Madrid. They are the most popular and well attended. Tickets are difficult to obtain. People attending were truly a cross section of Spanish society. Business men in suits. Women fashionably dressed in high heels. Working men in working cloths. Young people dressed to impress and attract each other. Tourists in jeans and running shoes. The May/December couple in the foreground is such an expression of optimism.

As the Bullfights begin, there is a procession lead by the matadors. They are followed by assistant matadors, picadors and armored horses and riders. Each has a role to play. Spain's best known matadors command a following not unlike an NBA star. Young men dream of being a matador and for many it is a ticket to wealth just as professional sports is in many parts of the world.

There are 6 bulls, 6 fights, 3 matadors. Each fight is a carefully scripted spectacle. All follow the same formula. As the bull enters the arena, he charges from one assistant matador to the next. 3 or 4 together can protect each other. Together they wear down the bull using up precious energy. One alone would not stand a chance against a 600 KG bull.

As the bull begins to tire, he learns from his experience and becomes more dangerous. Here he ponders his situation. In the background of this picture you can see an armored horse and rider. Their turn on stage is coming.

But first, the Picadors have their turn. This appears to be the most dangerous human role in the spectacle. Each man taunts the bull until it charges. Then in a ballet featuring the legs and the tips of the fingers, the Picador plunges barbed poles into the bull. These enrage the bull and wound it causing it to lose blood. The rage and loss of blood further weakens the bull.

Now the armored horses have their part to play. The bull charges the horses who are literally armored to protect them from the bulls' horns. The rider carries a 3 meter lance which he uses to stab at the bull drawing still more blood. The horses are blindfolded and superbly trained. During one fight, I watched a rider thrown from his horse. The horse remained perfectly still and took charge after charge until the rider remounted.

Enter the matador. Weakened to the point that one man can survive the fight, the bull squares off against a single matador. The matador further weakens the bull with pass after pass at the red cape. This is ballet of a different kind ... not so much strength but elegant finesse. This is not the beginning of the end, but it is certainly the end of the beginning.

At the end of the fight, the matador stands triumphant. Dressed in sequined costume, he looks less the consummate athlete but more the entertainer. A proud, arrogant Liberacci. Wielding a saber, the perfect end to this ritualistic execution is a single thrust between the vertebra and straight through the heart. Executed perfectly, the bull drops instantly to the ground. We will forgo this image.