While some view the Spanish bullfight as a cruel spectacle, others see it as a legitimate slice of Spain’s history. Writers Ernest Hemingway and James Michener were considered aficionados of the sport and wrote about it reverently. Travel writer Rick Steves suggests that “not to acknowledge the importance of the bullfight is to censor a venerable part of Spanish culture.” Still, he counsels tourists to seriously consider the morality of supporting the bullfight before buying a ticket. Those who decide to attend will find the experience more interesting by learning some of the finer points of the bullfight, or the corrida de toros.
The Bullring in Seville
Many consider Seville’s bullring, known officially as the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza, as the perfect venue to watch a bullfight. The intimate setting adorned with elaborate architectural highlights is more Wrigley Field than Yankee Stadium, and with nearly three hundred years of history, is the most prestigious stop on the circuit. Bullfights take place most Sundays, from Easter through October, and each day during Seville’s April Fair. As with other bullrings, seats in the sun (sol) are cheaper than those in the shade (sombra).
How a Bullfight is Organized
Typically, a bullfight consists of six fights, with three teams fighting two bulls each. Every bullfight unfolds in three acts, or tercios. In the first act, the one-ton bull (el toro) elicits gasps from the audience as it thunders into the ring. Initially, the head bullfighter (matador) and his team occupy the bull by performing various passes with a large, colorful cape called a capote. The object is to tire the bull and to study its movements and reactions, strengths and weaknesses. Afterwards, two men called picadors enter on horseback carrying spears which they use to pierce the bull’s back in order to enrage and weaken the animal.
Acrobatic Assistants and their Banderillas
After trumpets sound to end the first act, the banderilleros enter the ring. These are the matador’s assistants who entice the bull to charge, then leap across its path with their arms extended to thrust long barbed sticks (banderillas) into the bull’s back. This daring and acrobatic feat is attempted two more times, in order to further weaken the bull for the final act.
The Matador's Artistry with the Cape is on Display in the Final Act
In the final tercio, the matador confronts the bull alone and performs several well-known passes with a much smaller cape called a muleta. A good matador will exhibit his artistry and courage by guiding the bull’s horns close to his own body with each pass, while keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground and perfectly still. After a series of these hypnotic cape maneuvers, a successful thrust of a sword between the bull’s shoulder blades brings the animal to its knees, ending the fight. If the audience deems the performance exceptional, they signal their pleasure by waving white handkerchiefs to encourage the awarding of one or both of the bull’s ears, or the tail, to the matador.
Information on dates and tickets for bullfights in Seville is posted on the Plaza de Toro’s website. Besides the actual bullfight, the arena also offers daily English-speaking tours of its own bullfight museum along with a peak inside the empty bullring. For a comprehensive look at bullfighting and the life of the matador, read the Hemingway classic, Death in the Afternoon.
Christopher Cooper - Chris has 15 years experience writing reports and consulting for clients in the consumer and pharmaceutical industries, and began ...
