La corrida de toros-- What it's like to see a bullfight

La corrida de toros is a centuries-old tradition of Spain. While it is viewed by the Spaniards as an art form, many Americans, including the students in my program, have mixed feelings about the bullfights for whatever reason-- animal rights, the unnecessary violence, etc.

I am definitely one of those people. I had, and still do, have very mixed feelings about las corridas. I decided, though, that I couldn't leave Spain without seeing one, and wanted to form an informed opinion about the corridas. I went with a group of 7 other girls from my program to La Plaza de Toros right here in Sevilla. I didn't know it until I arrived, but it was a corrida for charity (the Red Cross and Food Bank, in particular), which made me feel better about going.

An overview of vocabulary for las corridas de toros...

toro: bull. There are, in a standard bullfight, 6 bulls total.
matador / torero: bullfighter; "matador" literally translates as "killer"
picador: man on horseback, who spears the bull initially
banderillero: men who spear the bull with a pair of "banderillas"
pañuelo: hankerchief; all people wave white pañuelos when a torero put on an exceptionally good show or fought well

Picture I got from the internet, a standard banderillero.

There are three distinct sections to each corrida. And each corrida de toros includes three different toreros and six bulls. First, all members walk into the plaza together. And, as to not be graphic, I will recap very briefly. First comes the picador, who spears the bull. The idea is to tire the bull, because otherwise, it would be too powerful to fight. Next come the banderilleros, usually about 3 per bull, who do a little jump and stick the bull with banderillas, again provoking the bull. Finally, the torero is left alone in the ring with the bull, and the fight ends with the death of the bull and the bull being escorted out by a small group of horses.

If the torero was exceptionally talented, the people wave their pañuelos, and the torero receives an ear of the bull. Even better, then both ears, and the best toreros get both ears and the tail.

The audience waving their pañuelos

The bullfight I went to was a little out of the norm. There were several different toreros, and seven bulls, because it was a charity event. The toreros didn't wear the traditional colorful suits, either, but instead traditional short jackets and fitted pants in grays and dark colors. Have to say, I love how people dress here-- not just for la corrida, but in general, they dress up more. You'll never catch someone running errands in athletic wear, except the tourists. (I'm not sure whether it's because they don't really view exercise the same way as we do in the US, but that's another topic completely...I feel that since people live more active lifestyles here, walking everywhere, etc, they tend to not set aside a time dedicated strictly to exercise, a gym, etc. Although, of course, there are most definitely a number of runners out in the streets at night! I'll have to observe a little more about that.)

One thing that surprised me was that the horses were completely blinded and drugged for the corrida. They also wore protective gear over their bodies. Otherwise, they would most definitely be spooked/ harmed. It makes sense, but completely caught me off guard and made me a little uncomfortable at first.

What also surprised me was how people reacted to the fight. While they were cheering on the torero, the crowd also seemed to feel for the bull. There were claps, but no whistles or happy cheering. To me, it seemed more of a serious acknowledgement. It was almost as if the people felt torn about the fight, wishing that both the torero and the toro could be victorious.

The third part of the corrida, the torero and the toro. Note the non-colorful suit, and the difference
between that of the torero below (picture from the internet please don't sue me...):

I learned from watching that bulls are not naturally aggressive animals. While they can certainly harm someone easily solely due to their mass, I would not at all consider them aggressive. Thus, they have to provoke the bull in the first two sections in order to make a fight and conquering possible. To me, it seemed that the bulls only ran out of confusion-- I don't think that they felt severe pain from the banderillas, for example, but were confused and startled by the happening. The capes aid in the confusion, as well-- since I believe they are colorblind, the red color enraging them is a myth. There were several instances throughout the corrida when the bull was just standing alone, not even walking. It rarely spontaneously started running towards a person in the ring. The bull had to be provoked, which was the saddest part of the fight for me. That the bull didn't want to fight back, and it never did from the start. That, and watching it slowly go down on four knees and surrender. It happened the same way every time.

That being said, I can also see the artistic parts to the corridas. The better toreros are easier to watch, for the bull's sake. A cleaner and faster kill, and a more artisitc, dance-like process, instead of the mere death that occurs when a newer, less-experienced torero fights. I left knowing which were better-- you honestly can tell just from watching one fight. The better toreros are braver, as well, and will have more confidence when it comes to getting close to the bull and standing his ground-- one even stood eye to eye with one while in the ring.

What also made me feel better about the bullfight is that they live better lives than any other bulls do-- they are fed and groomed and bred for the corridas and treated as kings up until that moment. Additionally, every part of the bull is used after its death-- it's not killed simply to be killed. Someone explained it to me as the bull being celebrated, living a wonderful life and then fighting an honorable fight to the end of its life. I also got the feeling that the toreros had a connection with the toros, something hard to explain in a blog post.

So, how do I feel about la corrida de toros? Conflicted. I am glad I went and got to experience something so engraved in the culture of Spain, yet at the same time, I doubt I'll go to another. I must, say, I feel that I understand the corrida de toros more now that I have went to see one in person.