Beauty in a Bullfight?

Bullfighting has been part of Spanish culture for a long time. It involves skill, risk, and courage on the part of the toreros (bullfighters) and bravery on the part of the bulls. Spaniards do not see it as a sport, though, because the outcome is never in doubt. The 6 bulls that are part of a bullfight will die, either in the ring by the 3 matadors or by a bullring assistant if all of the matadors are disabled. The matadors aim to kill the bulls quickly by hitting a major artery with their swords after the bull has been worn down. The matadors are judged based on how artfully they can get the bull to run toward their cape, how much danger they appear to put themselves in, and how swiftly they kill the bulls.

Before going to the bullfight on Saturday I had been reading the book Death and the Sun by Edward Lewine. This book tells the history of one specific matador, Francisco "Fran" Rivera Ordóñez, and explains a lot about bullfighting in general. I was very glad that I had read the book because I knew what was going on in the ring, knew what to look for in the actions of the matador, and also because I got to see the exact same matador that I had read about!

Watching the bulls go after the cape was the best part of the bullfight in my opinion. Sometimes the matadors would be on their knees as the bull charged them, or they would guide the bulls behind their backs. After a few "passes" by the bull, blood for the bull´s earlier wounds was visible on the matadors clothing! That really proved to me how close the bulls were getting to the matadors and how much danger the matadors could be in if something didn´t go according to plan. I began to understand the "beauty" in bullfighting. The matadors had to get themselves in just the right positions to keep themselves out of reach of the bulls horns and make artistic moves to keep the bull coming back for more. It was an awesome experience.

I don´t think that I will need to see another bullfight for quite a while, but I´m sure glad that I went to this one. It´s not a very pretty sight if you don´t know what to look for, but when you really focus on the matadors´ body positions and actions, the art of bullfighting is clear.