One of the FAQs I get from friends and family from back home is, "Have you been to a bull fight?"
Answer: Yes.
But hear me out before you hastily judge my decision to attend an event that have so many animal rights activists up in arms.
Last winter Craig managed to get us tickets to see a bull fight in Murcia. Bull fighting season is normally held in September, but that month Murcia hosted a bull fight in the off-season to raise money for cancer research. So being able to justify witnessing the controversial tradition by handing our money over to a good cause, we packed up a picnic and headed toward Murcia's Plaza de Toros.
Despite the pronounced physical and cultural differences of the bull fight, there were some structural parallels to American sporting events. Without trying to be culturally insensitive or unaware, I thought I would tap into readers' prior knowledge and compare my corrida de toros experience to an American football game...just to try to give a good feel for the sport.
1. Cheap seats
Yes, in the bull fighting sport world there is a hierarchy of seating prices.
Difference: The prices have nothing to do with the distance of the spectator to the ring. They have to do with sombra (shade) and sol (sun). Because the bull fighting season is in the summer, the more expensive seats are in the shade. But because we went in the winter, the cheap seats in the sun were more desirable.
2. Marching band
To introduce the festivities, a brass band appears in the middle of the ring to animate the crowd.
Difference: An average of about 20 years between the members of this band and those of your typical American marching band. And there wasn't as much organization in their formations. I'm not sure they could have handled lining up to make the shape of Spain.
3. Concession stand
After the third of six toreros performs (half-time), the crowd, like true Spaniards, indulge in food and drink.
Difference: The "concession stand" consists of coolers and picnic baskets brought by spectators. But instead of Coca-Cola and hot dogs, the Spanish are a bit more refined in their half-time food and go for wine, bocadillos (sandwiches made from baguettes), sausage links, habas (large green beens), beer, and tortilla, of course. Some fans, like the older gentlemen behind me, enjoy their wine from wineskins. I still have red-wine stains on the back of my jacket.
4. Scoreboard
To assess how the toreros carry out their performance, the crowd has a point of reference to look at during the event in order to see if the athlete has succeeded or failed, "won" or "lost," in football terms.
Difference: The scoreboard is not an actual display board but rather a judging panel in a VIP box, and the final results aren't digital numbers but rather pañuelos (handkerchiefs). If a bull fighter does well, he receives one pañuelo; very well, two pañuelos; and extremely well, three pañuelos.
If you look very closely in the picture, under the Estrella Levante sign (Murcia's local beer and the sponsor of the event), you can see a more ornate box with a curtain. Over the maroon railing the judge has given the torero one handkerchief, the crowd (like the woman in front of me) is waving their own handkerchiefs in attempt to convince the judge to present a second handkerchief to the torero.
5. Trophies
After a successful round, the athlete receives a prize for his effort.
Difference: This is a big one here--the trophy is not a bronze statue but rather the ears and tail of of the bull. The system goes a bit like this...if the judge presents:
There were moments of the bull fight where I was a little disturbed by the way the bull died. But to be honest, it wasn't as upsetting as I was expecting. I thought it was like a athletic, theatrical, and red carpet event in one. First of all, the toreros were athletic in that they had to have a lot of stamina to outrun the bull. But they were also like actors in the way they dodged the animal with finess and dramatic gestures. Furthermore, they were treated as celebrities as most of them are well-known in Spain. At the end they would march around the ring as the crowd, particularly women, would scream and shot their names.
I'm not sure I will ever attend another bull fight, but I was glad I got to experience at least one...and my money went to a good cause.
My advice to a guiri: If you can physically (or morally) stomach it, go to at least one bull fight to see what the hype is about. And don't forget your picnic.
And if you can't, don't judge me...por favor.
Answer: Yes.
But hear me out before you hastily judge my decision to attend an event that have so many animal rights activists up in arms.
Last winter Craig managed to get us tickets to see a bull fight in Murcia. Bull fighting season is normally held in September, but that month Murcia hosted a bull fight in the off-season to raise money for cancer research. So being able to justify witnessing the controversial tradition by handing our money over to a good cause, we packed up a picnic and headed toward Murcia's Plaza de Toros.
Despite the pronounced physical and cultural differences of the bull fight, there were some structural parallels to American sporting events. Without trying to be culturally insensitive or unaware, I thought I would tap into readers' prior knowledge and compare my corrida de toros experience to an American football game...just to try to give a good feel for the sport.
1. Cheap seats
Yes, in the bull fighting sport world there is a hierarchy of seating prices.
 |
| seating chart source |
Difference: The prices have nothing to do with the distance of the spectator to the ring. They have to do with sombra (shade) and sol (sun). Because the bull fighting season is in the summer, the more expensive seats are in the shade. But because we went in the winter, the cheap seats in the sun were more desirable.
2. Marching band
To introduce the festivities, a brass band appears in the middle of the ring to animate the crowd.
Difference: An average of about 20 years between the members of this band and those of your typical American marching band. And there wasn't as much organization in their formations. I'm not sure they could have handled lining up to make the shape of Spain.
3. Concession stand
After the third of six toreros performs (half-time), the crowd, like true Spaniards, indulge in food and drink.
Difference: The "concession stand" consists of coolers and picnic baskets brought by spectators. But instead of Coca-Cola and hot dogs, the Spanish are a bit more refined in their half-time food and go for wine, bocadillos (sandwiches made from baguettes), sausage links, habas (large green beens), beer, and tortilla, of course. Some fans, like the older gentlemen behind me, enjoy their wine from wineskins. I still have red-wine stains on the back of my jacket.
4. Scoreboard
To assess how the toreros carry out their performance, the crowd has a point of reference to look at during the event in order to see if the athlete has succeeded or failed, "won" or "lost," in football terms.
Difference: The scoreboard is not an actual display board but rather a judging panel in a VIP box, and the final results aren't digital numbers but rather pañuelos (handkerchiefs). If a bull fighter does well, he receives one pañuelo; very well, two pañuelos; and extremely well, three pañuelos.
If you look very closely in the picture, under the Estrella Levante sign (Murcia's local beer and the sponsor of the event), you can see a more ornate box with a curtain. Over the maroon railing the judge has given the torero one handkerchief, the crowd (like the woman in front of me) is waving their own handkerchiefs in attempt to convince the judge to present a second handkerchief to the torero.
5. Trophies
After a successful round, the athlete receives a prize for his effort.
Difference: This is a big one here--the trophy is not a bronze statue but rather the ears and tail of of the bull. The system goes a bit like this...if the judge presents:
- one pañuelo- the torero recieves one ear
- two pañuelos- both ears
- three pañuelos- both ears and the tail, which is the ulitmate and most sought after prize
There were moments of the bull fight where I was a little disturbed by the way the bull died. But to be honest, it wasn't as upsetting as I was expecting. I thought it was like a athletic, theatrical, and red carpet event in one. First of all, the toreros were athletic in that they had to have a lot of stamina to outrun the bull. But they were also like actors in the way they dodged the animal with finess and dramatic gestures. Furthermore, they were treated as celebrities as most of them are well-known in Spain. At the end they would march around the ring as the crowd, particularly women, would scream and shot their names.
I'm not sure I will ever attend another bull fight, but I was glad I got to experience at least one...and my money went to a good cause.
My advice to a guiri: If you can physically (or morally) stomach it, go to at least one bull fight to see what the hype is about. And don't forget your picnic.
And if you can't, don't judge me...por favor.
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