La corrida de toros - Bullfights

My girlfriends at school were particularly excited one Friday about an upcoming social activity that night – going to the bullfights! Yes, 16 year old girls and some of their guy friends were going to attend one night of the Fiera de Otoño, the last series of good bullfights of the year. What a surprise that teenagers here in Madrid are interested in bullfights!

The Pre-show

The ambiance surrounding Las Ventas bullring was exciting and felt somewhat like a festive carnival. Candy, nut and popcorn vendors shouted for business while others exchanged tickets and some took photos in front of Europe’s largest bullring. With a bag of my favorite sour candies and sunflower seeds (a Spanish favorite), I found my way into the arena. I purchased a seat cushion (1,20€) and grabbed a program before squeezing through rows of tightly-packed spectators to get to my spot on the hard cement bench – thank goodness for the cushion! It was fun to watch the people, especially those dressed chicly, chattering amongst themselves until the trumpet sounded to announce the beginning of the corrida (bullfight).

The Bullfight

Six times in each corrida, the matador in his gorgeous, colorful, gold embroidered outfit walks into the ring and gestures to the president of the bullring for permission to fight, and then dedicates his fight to an individual person or to the cheering public. However, the crowd quickly goes silent as the large gate opens and the bull enters the ring, greeted by the matador who performs a few passes to understand the bull’s personality. This is followed by the three parts of a bullfight:

1. Picadores on horseback stab the bull with a long spear to diminish the bull’s energy.
2. Banderilleros run very close to the bull and jab the bull with three pairs of banderillas (ribbon adorned stakes with sharp hooks) to revive the bull.
3. In the final phase, entitled the Suerte de muleta, the matador performs many impressive passes with his muleta (red cape) and eventually kills the bull.

The Dance

During the Suerte de muleta, I was mesmerized by the beautiful, artistic way in which the matador moves his body and performs the passes. The matador is a graceful dancer as he arches his back and lures the bull towards his cape and then quickly spins around for another pass. The crowd cheers him on with “Olé!”

The Award

Each of the six bullfights (two fights per matador) are judged by the president of the bullring who determines if the matador’s performance is worthy of recognition. Awards consist of one ear, two ears or a tail, which are very rare.

My mother, sister and I attended the last evening of the fall festival where we witnessed two great fights. The matador Miguel Perera performed so beautifully that the screaming crowd waved white handkerchiefs to convince the president to award the matador an ear. Not only was Miguel Perera awarded an ear after his first fight, but also another ear after his second fight. He was the star of the show. In the tradition of the bullring, all matadors awarded two ears in a corrida are carried out of the main door of Las Ventas into the plaza. So to be able to catch him, we quickly ran outside into the cool Madrid night air and joined the growing crowd around Miguel Perera. Girls were screaming and crying when they saw Miguel – a corrida pop star. Some glossy photos of Miguel were distributed to the lucky few, including me!

The tradition of bullfighting is alive and well here in Madrid, even though to the sadness of many, they do not end like my favorite childhood book, The Story of Ferdinand, in which the bull’s life is spared and he returns to the countryside.