Bullfighting in Spain, the savagery continues ...

Plaza de Toros Las Ventas is the famous bullring in Madrid and it was the same place we went on the 21 May 2022 Saturday evening 7 PM bullfight in Madrid. Bullfights in Madrid and deadly, ie. the bull is killed while in Barcelona it is let free .. There were approximately eight to ten thousand people in the stadium, on a rough estimate.

"Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter's honor." - Ernest Hemingway

The fighting starts with the procession on a horse, followed by the matadors and the picadors (who pierce he bull in the back bone of the bull with spear) march into the stadium and then the fight starts. A pair of picadors enter the ring on horses with long spears from diametrically opposite corners. 

The Las Ventas Toros stadium in Madrid

The bull charges one of these picadors atop the horses and at that time the picador pierces the back of the bull with the spear, not deep enough to debilitate it, but deep enough to enrage it. It is then distracted by the matador, brought centre stage, after some tiring down in less than twenty minutes the matador with the help of a knife hidden behind his back strikes at the charging bull's aorta in the heart, piercing and withdrawing it soon. The piercing is over in a fraction of a second. 

The bull is bewildered, still looking around in fear, within fifteen seconds it collapses on the ground.  The dead bull is then pulled across the ground and taken out. The crowds wave with white handkerchiefs if they find it was a perfect kill. Else they disapprove with jeer.

Before half time three bulls are killed and after half time, three more.  We could not stand the killings and walked out after 4 bulls were killed. But one thing we need to understand is it is just the difference in culture and taste of the population. I found the people inside the stadium were jeering and shouting after each killing. Families come with kids, young people with their boyfriends or girlfriends and so on.

The Las Ventas, as per my information is the largest bullring in Madrid. It is in four levels. We were seated at the top level, balconey, cheaper, giving a bird's eye-view of the whole bullring, about 30 euros per person.

Though we feel upset with the fact that the bulls like us were killed, a primitive sport, we were happy we expressed our displeasure at the killing of these innocent animals and walked off. We were the only people to walk out of the stadium. When we came out there was pain in our hearts and relief on all our faces.

The visit made it possible for us to understand Spanish culture and psyche in a small manner.

“To protest about bullfighting in Spain, the eating of dogs in South Korea, or the slaughter of baby seals in Canada while continuing to eat eggs from hens who have spent their lives crammed into cages, or veal from calves who have been deprived of their mothers, their proper diet, and the freedom to lie down with their legs extended, is like denouncing apartheid in South Africa while asking your neighbors not to sell their houses to blacks.” ― Peter Singer, Animal Liberation

In a way we are all hypocrites, talk one way, while practice just the opposite.

George.