We went to a bull fight one weekend at Plaza Mexico, the largest such stadium in the world. Actually, the term "bull fight" is very strange to Mexicans. It's not actually a fight where the outcome is in question. Furthermore, they describe it dismissively as "Spanish" - something foreign that was hoisted upon them. They say the stadium fills up more during the high season, which is in the winter, but it was mostly empty that day.
The first thing that happens is the toreros introduce themselves to the audience while recorded spanish trumpet music saturates the stadium. The outfits were very traditional, but for some reason there was a lot more hot pink than I was expecting, including socks and capes.
They then announce the bull using a sign that shows, presumably, his name (or the owner's name?), age, weight and other details.
Next, the first of six bulls appears. It runs at the toreros who slip, at the last moment, behind a wall.
The matadors test the bull by going out alone and having it run at their cape. This is a female matador!
Another matador had a lot of trouble with his bull. This is him losing his cape and turning tail to run away. As soon as this kind of thing happens, the other toreros step in to distact the bull with many pink capes, ensuring the safe retreat of the matador.
The next stage is when the picador comes out on his horse. Traditionally his horse was unprotected and the horse would frequently be killed by the bull. Not anymore. The horse is wrapped in a thick mattress. Notice that its eyes are completely covered as well.
The picador stabs the bull in the back a few times, bloodying his spear.
Next, the matador returns and taunts the now bleeding bull further, sometimes getting help from other toreros.
The next thing that happens is that colorful lances are stuck into the back of the bull. This step looks pretty challenging, actually, since the banderilleros don't have capes, yet must stick these lances into the still strong, charging bull's back.
These lances cause intense bleeding and the bulls become weaker and visibly struggle for air.
Next, the matador needs to insert a sword between the shoulder blades of the bull. For some reason, this does not kill the bull.
This particular matador had the most problems during this step as well. His sword popped out a number of times, his shoes also fell off, and he seemed exasperated...
but he did eventually plant his sword.
The next step is to remove the sword with another sword that has a small cross at the top. This is done by a team working the weakened bull.
Once this first sword is removed, the matador stabs the bull with the cross sword at the base of the neck, right behind its head. The limp bull falls to the floor and is dragged off by a team of horses.
We watched three bulls. The second one survived because the same matador who had so much trouble failed to kill him before the ending trumpets sounded. They say that surviving bulls are a rare event and that they are put out to stud and live happily ever after. However, he had successfully planted the first sword, so I suspect they had to euthanize it.
Many of the characters around us were quite seedy. One guy in particular tried to taunt the toreros screaming, for example, "vive la france" at a matador who was either french or looked french. He also got very drunk and made it difficult for us to leave after, having seen three of six bulls, we'd had enough. There was also a family next to us, including a small girl. The girl cried every time the bull was hurt. Brittni, one of my friends, left after the first bull saying, "I think I get the idea".
I'd never been to an event like this before, and I can hardly say it was enjoyable or something I would support. I don't think it's the same experience that Hemingway wrote about, either. Once it was dangerous for everyone involved, a vivid battle for survival. But now it is only dangerous for the bull.
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