Bullfights

For obvious reasons, many people consider bullfighting cruel and shocking, but as Ernest Hemingway pointed out in Death in the Afternoon: "The bullfight is not a sport in the Anglo-Saxon sense of the word; that is, it is not an equal contest or an attempt at an equal contest between a bull and a man. Rather it is a tragedy: the death of the bull, which is played, more or less well, by the bull and the man involved and in which there is danger for the man but certain death for the bull."

When the symbolic drama of the bullfight is acted out, some believe it reaches a higher plane, the realm of art. Some people argue that it is not a public exhibition of cruelty at all, but rather a highly skilled art form that requires the will to survive, courage, showmanship, and gallantry. Regardless of how you view it, the spectacle is an authentic Spanish experience and reveals much about the character of the land and its people.

The corrida (bullfight) season lasts from early spring until around mid-October. Fights are held in a plaza de toros (bullring), and the big-time Ventas bullring in Madrid is the largest in all Spain. Sunday is corrida day par excellence, though Madrid also regularly has fights on Saturdays and fiestas, and during the San Isidro festivities there are 4 continuous weeks of daily bullfights. At the back of the Plaza de Toros in the Patio de Caballos (Courtyard of the Horses) is the atmospheric little Museo Taurino (Bullfight Museum; tel. 91-725-18-57), where, among less ghoulish corrida souvenirs, you can see the traje de luces (luminous suit) -- complete with faded bloodstains -- that the legendary Spanish bullfighter Manolete wore during his last fateful bullfight in Linares in 1947.

Tickets fall into three classifications, and prices are based on your exposure to the famed Spanish sun: sol (sun), the cheapest; sombra (shade), the most expensive; and sol y sombra (a mixture of sun and shade), the medium-price range.

The corrida begins with a parade. For many viewers, this may be the high point of the afternoon's festivities, as all the bullfighters are clad in their trajes de luces.

Bullfights are divided into thirds. The first is the tercio de capa (cape), during which the matador tests the bull with various passes and gets acquainted with him. The second portion, the tercio de varas (sticks), begins with the lance-carrying picadores on horseback, who weaken, or "punish," the bull by jabbing him in the shoulder area. The horses are sometimes gored, even though they wear protective padding, or the horse and rider might be tossed into the air by the now-infuriated bull. The picadores are followed by the banderilleros, whose job it is to puncture the bull with pairs of boldly colored darts.

In the final tercio de muleta, the action narrows down to the lone fighter and the bull. Gone are the fancy capes. Instead, the matador uses a small red cloth known as a muleta, which, to be effective, requires a bull with lowered head. (The picadores and banderilleros have worked to achieve this.) Using the muleta as a lure, the matador wraps the bull around himself in various passes, the most dangerous of which is the natural; here, the matador holds the muleta in his left hand, the sword in his right. Right-hand passes pose less of a threat, since the sword can be used to spread out the muleta, making a larger target for the bull. After a number of passes, the time comes for the kill, the moment of truth.

After the bull dies, the highest official at the ring may award the matador an ear from the dead bull, or perhaps both ears, or ears and tail. For a truly extraordinary performance, the hoof is sometimes added. Spectators cheer a superlative performance by waving white handkerchiefs, imploring the judge to award a prize. The bullfighter may be carried away as a hero, or if he has displeased the crowd, he may be jeered and chased out of the ring by an angry mob. At a major fight, usually six bulls are killed by three matadors in one afternoon.