Bull Fight at Las Ventas

Well we went to the bull fights at Plaza de Toros at Las Vetnas. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. We had pretty good seats too! Far enough away from the action that I didn’t get too grossed out by the blood but close enough that we didn’t need binoculars to see. There were three toreros or matadors;  Miguel Hernández “Miguelín”, 23 years old, Raúl Rivera, 20 years old and, Alberto Escobar, 24 years old. I was surprised at how young they were! Although I guess it makes sense because the older you get the slower you become and when you have a bull charging you, you want to be pretty quick on your feet!

When we got there we wished we would’ve looked up the rules beforehand but we were able to figure out some of them. Two of the bulls were allowed to live but the rest were killed in the fight. A couple of the matadors were gored! One was hit in the face, it looked like it was just a graze across the cheek and he was able to finish the fight. The second matador looked as if he was gored directly in the armpit or just under it. He fell back onto the ground and his banderilleros rushed to help him up. He took a bit of breather and then finished the fight. As he walked out of the ring to the infirmary everyone in the crowd stood and waved white handkerchiefs to honor him.

A special type of surgeon has resulted from bullfighting to treat cornadas, or horn-wounds. A bull ring normally has an infirmary with an operating room and a chapel with a priest.

Spanish bullfighting is called corrida de toros (running of the bulls).  A traditional bullfight has three matadors and each matador fights two bulls. The bulls are at least four years old and weigh up to 1,300 pounds with a minimum weight of 1,000 pounds. There are three tercios, or stages, to a bull fight. Each tercio is announced by the sound of a trumpet.

The participants first enter the arena in a paseíllo (parade) to salute the presiding dignitary. The paseíllo is steeped in tradition. For example, the oldest matador enters on the left with the youngest in the middle. If it is the matador’s first time in that particular arena he will do the paseíllo without his hat.

A torero has a cuadrilla or a team of bullfighters:

Picador: This is the person who challenges the bull from a horse. He has a big lance with a very big blunt spear head on the tip. The bull has to be in a certain area of the arena before the picador can challenge the bull. The picador has three main functions: one to pierce the muscle on the back of the bull’s neck in order to straighten the bull’s charge, two to fatigue the bull’s neck muscles and stamina as it tries to lift the horse with its head and, three to lower the bull’s head in preparation for the next stage. The banderilleros help to corral the bull into the area.  The picador is allowed to spear the bull twice. A matador can request one less spear or an additional one if the bull is extra feisty. Before 1928 horses did not wear protection which sometimes resulted in the horse being disemboweled. Now the horse is covered with a peto, a mattress-like protection. The horse also wears a blindfold so it doesn’t get spooked by the charging bull.

Originally the picador was the main attraction, not the matador. People would come to see the picador’s skill in protecting the horse while fighting off the bull with the lance. The matador was there to help the picador. However, once the matadors started to get fancy with the footwork, they became the main attraction.

Banderillos: These guys are the flagmen. They assist in corralling the bull into the correct area for the picador and they help get the bull riled up at the beginning of the fight. The banderillos also help test the ferocity of the bull by getting it to charge the capote.

Espadas: This person is a ‘sword-servant’. They give the matador the swords when he needs them.

The three stages to the fight:

Stage 1: Tercio de Varas (lances third) This stage gives the matador a chance to observe the bull’s behavior as it charges at the caps of the banderillos. The torero will look for any signs of weakness such as vision problems or unusual head movements. The initial attack by the matador is called suerte de capote (act of the cape). Following this, the picador will come out and draw the first blood. This loss of blood weakens the bull. The bull also becomes tired from trying to lift the horse that the picador is on. During this stage the neck becomes weakened and the bull will hold its head and horns lower for the rest of the fight making it less dangerous for the matador.

Stage 2: Tercio de Banderillos (Banderillos third) In this stage the banderillos attempt to stick two barbed sticks in the bull’s shoulders. These barbs further weaken the neck and shoulder muscles through loss of blood while also causing the bull to frequently charge the person sticking him. The matador then enters with his cape and sword to further tire the bull by enticing him to charge the cape.

Stage 3: Tercio de Muerte (death third) In this stage the matador is alone in the ring with the bull holding a muleta (small red cape) and a sword. The matador uses the muleta to attract the bull in a series of passes which demonstrates his control over the bull and risks his life by getting very close to it. The faena (job) is the entire performance with the muleta. The faena consists of a series of passes which ends with the matador attempting to move the bull into position in order to stab the bull between the shoulder blades and through the aorta or heart. The act of thrusting the sword into the bull is called an estocada. A clumsy estocada will result in jeering and booing from the crowd. If the estocada is not successful the matador will perform a descabello which cuts the bull’s spinal cord. The matador must kill the bull within 15 minutes. If he can’t do it, the bull is either returned to its pen or if local law requires, it is killed outside the ring. Regardless, it is a huge dishonor to the matador to fail in killing the bull.

A bull is allowed to live when the crowd believes it put up a good fight and is brave. The crowd will demand an idulto and wave white handkerchiefs before the escotada happens. The presidente will decide if the bull can live or not. If a bull is allowed to live it is retired from bull fighting and is raised as a stud. Matadors depend on the fact that a bull has never experienced something like a fight before. If a bull was allowed to re-enter the ring it would’ve learned from the past experience and it would be harder for the matador to defeat the bull.

A trofeo (trophy) is awarded when a matador has a successful faena. If at least half the spectators petition the ­presidente by waving white handkercheifs, the prestidente is obligated to award the torero one ear from the bull.

The crowd and toreros have great respect for the bull. The braver a bull is, the greater the honor is for the torero to fight the bull. Bullfighting is considered a form of art. Ernest Hemingway wrote in his book, Death in the Afternoon, ‘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 honour.” 

Las Ventas:

A statue to honor the toreros.

On the back side of the statue is says: "Murio un torero y nacio un angel." - Antonio D. Olano (Die a matador, born an angel.)

The arena:

If the King comes to watch or other very important dignitary figures this is where they sit.

The beginning of the paseíllo.

One of the banderillos:

The picador:

He lost his capote!

One of the three toreros: 

Notice the blood on the front of his outfit? That is how close he gets to bull!

They use mules to take out the dead bull.

This bull ended up knocking over the horse! 

This torero was close enough to touch the bull!

I don'think I would ever turn my back on an angry bull who has been charging at me!

These signs were brought out before each bull fight. The bull's name is Afriquero. He was born in November 2008 and weighs 502 kg (1,106 lbs). Each bull is assigned a number. This bull is number 7. The number does not reflect the order in which they fight. I think la ganadería (animal husbandry) assigns the numbers. A. Moreno is  la ganadería.

This bull got to live. They send the other ones out to help get it calmed down and then the fighting bull follows them back in.

The torero all on his own.

This is the torero  that got gored in the armpit area.