We went to the Plaza de Toros in Madrid. It was the last bullfight of the season, and I can tell you, was the best (and worst) thing we saw in Madrid. I will NEVER forget it. I definitely do not condone what goes on in the arena, but also respect that it is almost a celebration, an honor, for the Spaniards. It is a part of their culture.
My only idea of what went on during a bullfight was from high school Spanish classes, and that wasn't reality. Rachel and I had great seats (and ironically shared the entire row with all Americans!). The entourage of bullfighters came out to drums and trumpets. The matador men all went off on their own and got mentally prepared for the days bullfights. They went through the motions of waving their colored fabric around as if a bull was running by them.
To be honest, watching the bullfight was like a car accident. You don't want to look, but you can't keep your eyes away from it. I spent the first fight predominately taking videos on my camera, so although I was watching what was going on, I wasn't fully understanding it. At the end, I looked at Rachel and she had tears in her eyes. I asked why, and I put down the camera and saw what she was looking at. It was awful. So I did not take any pictures during the second fight, and I concentrated on watching the whole thing. After that fight, I was ready to go, but there were FOUR more.
We saw 6 bulls be killed that day. I get that it is cultural, but it is honestly totally inhumane. These bulls run out of the gates looking to play almost. They are not mean or malicious at all. They are first stabbed with a spear by a man on a horse (apparently the stuff on the spear helps numb them to the pain). Then the bull runs around for show while the matadors trick it and wave their colored fabrics at it. Then, other men take these little colored dagger things and stick them in the bull's back. There normally is anywhere between 4 and 6 that end up hanging from its back. Then, the main bullfighter comes out with his colored fabric, messes with the bull, and then jabs a long sword through the length of its body. There is blood everywhere at this point. This sword does the bull in. He walks to the side of the arena, surrounded by men, and collapses. Another man comes in with a dagger to put the bull out of its misery, and stabs it in the neck. However, he doesn't just stab him once, he stabs him multiple times and twists and turns the knife blade until the bull lies on its side, dead. They then tie him up by the horns, and bring horses out to ceremoniously pull him out of the arena.
We were allowed to go down in the arena and mess around afterwards, which was gross and fun. There was thick blood everywhere on the ground. We were there for awhile taking pictures. The people who work their ended up shooing us out of another exit than the one we came through. We walked through this tunnel, and I smelled horses. I stopped Rachel and we looked at the ground. We realized the tunnel we were walking through was the one they drug the dead bulls through. We got through the tunnel, and noticed there was a something like a garage door that was cracked open like 2.5 feet. We noticed water coming out...spraying from a hose. There was a man standing in front, trying to obstruct the view. I bent down to see what he was hiding and realized the bulls heads were there. That was the room they slaughtered the bulls in. One of the men with the hose pulled up the garage door about 6 feet, and we saw the heads lying on the ground, clear as day. As morbid as it is, we took a picture.
The pictures and videos speak for themselves. I will let you see what I saw that day. There are a lot of videos, but most of them are very short.
Let me know what you think. I am curious to see your thoughts on this event.
********WARNING THAT THESE PICS AND VIDEOS ARE GRAPHIC******************
Playing in the arena afterwards.
The hall the bulls were drug through after they were dead.
Thick, caked blood.
The wall the bullfighters jump over.
First speck of blood we noticed on the ground. Kelly - notice the stance?!?! :)
The heads :(
Cleaning up the blood after a bullfight - the trail left after they drag off the bull.
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1 comment:
Wow, Liz!! You are a bigger person than I am. I couldn't even watch all the videos, especially the end. How sad for those poor animals. I realize that this is part of their culture, but it was nothing like what I expected. I thought the bulls were more active like the ones they ride in the rodeo, where they're all over the place. Those poor things looked like playful puppies in comparison. It was evident they were drugged. How brutal it was when they stabbed him - and the people in the audience act like it's some sort of accomplishment. Where's PETA when you need them? I know now why Rachel had tears in her eyes. I would have cried and then gotten sick to watch it. I'm sure it was a most unforgettable experience. I'll live vicariously through you on that one...thanks! :)
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