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Bullfighting in Spain: a triumph of life over death
Bullfighting in Spain is and will always be a controversy subject, difficult to write about.
Married to a local Spaniard from Andalusia, who would never miss a bullfight on television and who even visits every now and then a bullring to experience it directly, I gained a good inside of this piece of Spanish culture and tradition. My Spanish father in law is a real ‘aficionado’ too. So, sooner or later I had to deal with this subject and when I finally went to see my first bullfighting in Spain, I very much felt like Ernest Hemingway:
"…so I went to Spain to see bullfights and to try to write about them… I thought they would be simple and barbarous and cruel and that I would not like them….
… but the bullfight was so far from simple and I liked it so much, that it was much too complicated for my then equipment for writing to deal with and…. I was not able to write anything about it for five years…..
… I know only that what is moral is, what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after… the bullfight is very moral to me because I feel very fine while it is going on…"
Ernest Hemingway, 1932 (Death in the Afternoon)
I am not Ernest Hemingway,… yet…, but I will try to give you a short summary of a bullfight:
Bullfighting in Spain - a dance of passion, art and intelligence -
The ‘corrida’ (bullfight) starts with the walk-in ‘paseíllo’, of the matadors and their assistants, followed by the banderilleros and horses with picks. This parade is the prologue of the corrida’ and it ends underneath the balcony of the president. The president is responsible for ensuring they comply with all rules of the ‘corrida’ and at the end of each performance, he rewards the matador(bullfighter)who most deserves it.
A bullfight consists of three parts, called 'tercios' (thirds). During the first part the bull is being tested and checked on its strength, its bravery, quality of its attack, its ability to repeat the attack several times... These passes are performed by the ‘banderilleros’.
During the course of the second and third part, there is the intervention of horses. Two ‘picadores’ jump into the ring on horseback. Each is placed on the opposite sides of the square. The picks are so called because they use a pole or rod with a metal tip on one end, which mission is to pique the bull. Now, the matador faces an already weakened bull. He lures the bull with his red cloth, creeping him, teasing him, showing elegant poses of his character repertoire… At this moment, he relies on his intelligence and skills against the massive power of an animal, weighing over 500kg. One is witnessing a dance of passion, art and intelligence. In fact, if you have the chance to see a couple of Flamenco dancers, also called Sevillana dancers, (the typical Andalusian dance), you will realise that the male dancer takes on the same elegant poses like a matador in front of a bull.
The end is usually (cross fingers), the triumph of the matador over the bull - a triumph of life over death.
Bullfighting in Spain is most popular in the Region of Andalusia, which is where the most famous bullfighters live. The cult of the bull, played a role in almost all the Mediterranean cultures. The animal symbolizes strength and fertility. In the Middle Ages, the bullfights were part of the festivities at the court. Knights and noblemen fought the bull on horseback. The bullfight of the common people was always done on foot. This developed into the present form of bullfight during which usually three matadors fight against two bulls each.
Should you assist to a ‘corrida de toros’ (bullfighting)? – Absolutely! – How else would you find out how you really feel about it?
Please bear with me, detailed information about Almeria bullfights will be coming soon ..
"…so I went to Spain to see bullfights and to try to write about them… I thought they would be simple and barbarous and cruel and that I would not like them….
During the course of the second and third part, there is the intervention of horses. Two ‘picadores’ jump into the ring on horseback. Each is placed on the opposite sides of the square. The picks are so called because they use a pole or rod with a metal tip on one end, which mission is to pique the bull. Now, the matador faces an already weakened bull. He lures the bull with his red cloth, creeping him, teasing him, showing elegant poses of his character repertoire… At this moment, he relies on his intelligence and skills against the massive power of an animal, weighing over 500kg. 
