Friday, September 20, 2013

El Plaza del Torro: Bull fighting arena

We got a tour of the bull fighting arena in Sevilla. There are a bunch of bull fights next weekend, however, I will be in Granada and Malaga, so I won't be able to catch them. Part me is bummed, but part of me is relieved.


In Spain, they kill the bulls, so you literally sit in an arena, and watch a "matador" (direct translation: Killer) slay a bull fr entertainment. The matador has to stab the bull in it's spine to make it the least painful for the bull, however, it order to do that, you need to be like less than two feet from the face of the bull.

The matadors ride horses during the event, which makes me feel terrible for the horses, since often, they are the ones getting injured. We visited the horse stables here.



Bull fighting season runs from April-October, and for the first two weeks, during the "Festival of Spring," (a big celebration in Sevilla) the plaza has a bull fight almost every day for two weeks. After that, there is a fight almost every Sunday. Each Matador has to kill 2 bulls. A show consists of 3 Matadors, so all in all, 6 bulls are killed every week. During the Festival of Spring, those are daily statistics.

However, if a bull kills the matador (which does happen), then it is considered bad luck (obviously), but then the bull's whole family, including it's mother and siblings are euthanized. Seems a bit drastic, but who am I to judge I suppose. The youngest matador ever actually fought in Sevilla, and was only 14 years old, and he is considered one of the best ever. He died fighting a bull though, and the face of that bull is now showcased in the museum part of the plaza.

The arena can fit up to 14,000 people, but most shows don't usually have more than 5,000 people. Standard handstand picture in the arena.


I validate that this sport is an activity of physical fitness and courage, discipline, and challenges, and I can validate that this is a huge part of Spanish culture and plays more of a role in defining a country in today's globalized world, and I can even validate that the slaying of the bull is done out of honor, because EVERY SINGLE part of the bull is used after it is slain, even to this day. However, I do not know how strongly I can validate that this morally entertaining nor a pleasant way to spend my Sunday afternoons.




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