My first bullfight

Yes, it's true. Today I finally went to my first Spanish bullfight. It took place in Jerez, about a half an hour away from Rota, and I enjoyed it much more than I had imagined. This is one of the first bullfights of the season, and although there were quite a few people there, the bullring was far from packed.

The biggest thing that I noticed about bullfighting that I hadn't known before going was the ceremony involved in it. The presentation of the fight is more important than the fight itself. There were 6 bulls killed in total, and although I had expected to be horrified by the bulls' deaths, it wasn't that bad. Each torrero (bullfighter) took their turn with a bull and they would try to get close enough to stab it in a vulnerable spot. The way they got close to the bulls, but darted out of the way was almost like a well-rehearsed dance.


During the fights, the banderilleros (flag-bearing helpers) often stepped in with their pink flags, which they would use to distract the bull whenever necessary. Each fight began with the woman bullfighter on horseback, armed with a lance. She must stab a mound of muscle on the bull's neck, leading to the animal's first loss of blood. In the next stage, the banderilleros attempt to plant two razor sharp barbed sticks on the bull's flanks, ideally as close as possible to the wound where blood was first drawn.

At the end, the bullfighter re-enters the ring alone with a small red cape and a sword. It is a common misconception that the color red is supposed to anger the bull, despite the fact bulls are colourblind (the real reason that a red colored cape is used is that any blood stains on it will be less noticeable). He uses his cape to attract the bull in a series of passes, both demonstrating his control over it and risking his life by getting especially close to it. When this happens, the crowd shouts "Ole!". Finally, the match comes to an end when the bullfighter makes a last stab at the bull. Then all the bandilleros come out and try to get the bull cornered, so that it gives up and lays down, and then they kill it with a single stab through its head.

When the bull is dead, the bullfighter may be awarded trophies, according to their skill in working with the bull, which can be one or two ears from the bull, the tail and the hoof. The crowd will often show its opinion of the fight by waving white handkerchiefs, and this waving continues after the trophies have been awarded in an attempt to get the bullfighter to throw their trophies into the crowd.

The most interesting part about this particular bull fight, was that the bullfighters were women , and some were even on horseback! I was very impressed by the way they carried themselves too... the show was all about showing confidence in the fact that they were the bull's master. Although this did backfire for one girl. She wasn't having very much luck to begin with (as in she couldn't a good shot at the bull) and at one point, she turned her back on the bull (which they do frequently) and the bull, who wasn't quite tired out yet, charged her. Then, to make matters worse, she fell down onto the ground and the bull trampled her a bit before she got up. But, in true bullfighter fashion, she stood up, and continued on with the show. Luckily she didn't seem to be hurt.

The other tradition that I found interesting (albeit a little disgusting) was that of cutting off parts of the bull and throwing them into the crowd. A couple of times Rachael and I had to back up to get out of the way of a flying ear, and one little boy sitting right in front of us managed to catch one (which apparently was a pretty big deal!) My only question is, what do you do with a bull's ear once you get it home?