Bullfight!

Yesterday I went to a bullfight at La Plaza de Torros (Plaza of the Bulls) in Sevilla. The arena was very pretty and the bullfight was very exciting and definitely got my heart racing! The inside of the arena was pretty big and there were a lot of people and I am definitely glad that we paid extra for the seats in the shade. When we bought the tickets the day before we didn’t think the sun would be too bad because the fight didn’t start until 7pm but the lady selling them to us convinced us that we would definitely want the shade, and she was right… it was still about 85 degrees at 7pm! Going into the fight I thought there would just be one bull that they killed, however we quickly learned that this was not the case, there are actually 6! There are 3 matadors (the people who kill the bull in the end) and each “fight” 2 bulls. Of the 3 that we saw, one was only 18 years old and one was a woman!

 Me and Alexis outside of La Plaza de Torros

All of the matadors entering the stadium

The first bull that they killed was very hard to watch because we were actually sitting really close and could see everything. However, we knew that they donate the meat from the bull to the poor people of the city so that made it a little easier to watch. Also, there was a lot of ritual and tradition and Spanish pride during the fight so that was cool to see. As more bulls came out each one got bigger and stronger and had more energy so it got more and more exciting as it went on. Also, with the second bull one of the matadors (bull fighters) fell down in front of the bull and got tossed around by the bull a couple of times. It was really scary to watch, but the matador just got right back up and made it seem completely normal. After that I started to feel more nervous for the humans than for the bull and things started to get exciting. The only part that I always closed my eyes for was when the bulls charged at the horses that were part of the process. After the matadors tire the bull out a little bit (get him to run all around the arena) two horses with men on them enter the stadium. The men have long spears and are the first ones to injure the bull. The matadors call the bull over to the horses and the stronger bulls would charge at the horse (which is what the matadors want) so that the man on the horse can spear the bull in the back. The bulls run full force into the horses and it looks like the horses have both eyes covered. However, after the fight when I told my host family that I felt bad for the horses, the dad showed me a you tube video that showed how they train the horses so they know exactly what is going on in an actual bull fight. Also, the horses can see out of one of their eyes so they know that the bull is coming… so that made me feel a lot better about the horses.

The woman matador

The fifth bull was definitely the most exciting because after the bull is speared by many different men he is left alone in the arena with the main matador us only has a cape and a sword. He uses the cape to attract the bull and tire him out and all of the previous bulls were very tired out by this point. However, this bull still had tons of energy and when going for the cape he charged the matador and bucked him into the air. The matador was flipped over the bull and landed on the ground behind but it didn’t faze him at all… he got right back up and kept fighting.

Overall, I am so glad that I went to the bullfight because it is definitely a huge part of the Spanish culture and it was very interesting to watch. It was sad, but it was more about the pride of the matador and the pride of man vs. wild. Also it is really interesting to see all of the traditional and ritual that goes on throughout the entire event. But I am definitely not planning on going back anytime soon to see one!