Bullfight in Sevilla: Matt

I must say that of all the countries we are visiting I was most excited for Spain. This is mostly because I know a little Spanish and have learned a lot about Spanish culture. So from our first unplanned stop in Irun then going to Madrid then Sevilla and currently Barcelona, I have enjoyed it all!

We have accumulated a lot of stories to share so rather than give you a run down of what all we did, I will just share about the bullfight.

One of the most memorable moments of our trip so far was when we saw a bullfight in Sevilla (this past Thursday evening from 10 to a little past midnight). It was a bullfight involving younger matadors that are still maturing in the “art” and I guess I would call it an art because it wouldn't make any sense otherwise.

*NOTE* Read the next two paragraphs at your own discretion. I have left out most of the extreme gory details but it still may be disturbing...I am serious.

The way this bullfight worked was there were a bunch of people dressed in bright and tight clothes with a canvas cape of sorts which they would wave at the bull to distract it from actually attacking them. After it runs around for a bit some dudes then have spear like things that they stab into the back/spine of the bull when it lunges at them and those stay on the bull the whole time. Those spear like things weaken the bull over time and it usually bleeds a little... then the matador essentially dances with the bull. He is the only one out there at this time. Occasionally he will turn his back to the bull and pump his chest out and walk like he is all that and then everyone claps. It's at this point I wouldn't mind seeing the bull charge the matador. After a bit he takes a skinny sword and shoves it into the spine area of the bull when the bull's head is lowered exposing the target for the matador. Once the matador shoves the sword in the other dudes come out and wave their capes at the bull until the bull goes down to the ground. The matador then goes back to the bull and stabs it in the back of the head with a sword and then it rolls over dead (another dude goes to the bull immediately after with a knife and makes sure it is finished). Then they strap the dead bull to the end of a few dressed up horses and drag the bull out of the ring at lightning speed. If the matador was good then people will wave white hankerchiefs and throw things onto the ring. He walks around and collects flowers and kisses peoples hats and fans before throwing them back. One person even threw their car keys into the ring! So the same thing happened 6 times with 6 different matadors and 6 different bulls obviously. There's also a band that plays music at different times during the fight. How cool is that?!

So that's the theory behind it...but since it was a rookie bullfight (very young and new matadors) it wasn't the cleanest fight...on both sides. In fact the first matador got nailed a couple times and even trampled once. We didn't think he would finish the fight but somehow he did. A few matadors missed their target when trying to drop the bull to the ground, kinda like when you get your blood drawn or donate blood and they miss your vein a few times... Most of the time the bull died pretty far away from us in the ring so it wasn't too hard to watch. But the last one died right in front of us and that was disturbing to say the least. I know it's part of the culture and all but I like animals...

*END of any gory bullfight details...

So before I say anymore just want to apologize to Nana on behalf of us all for attending a bullfight. At the bullfight, I thought “what if Nana was here?!” I guess the only way I could justify watching it was that it was going to happen with or without me there and I should experience this part of Spanish culture. Also I heard that a long time ago they actually gave the bull meat to poor people. Now I hear they sell it, so apparently it gets used and not wasted. Also how many bulls are killed everyday in the United States and don't get to entertain a crowd of people in the process? Although it seems torturous, I don't think it was too painful for the bull, it seemed to be a quick death. Anyway those are all the ways I justified being there although I don't have a huge desire to witness one again.

There were two older Spanish gentlemen next to us that were very jolly. I don't know how old they were but they were super tan and missing teeth. They seemed to be good friends and had brought some beer and sandwichs with them to the bullfight. They are kinda like those older dudes you see at a sports event that think they know everything about the sport and want to see the up and coming stars of the sport. So naturally I wanted to talk with them and see their reactions to things. They didn't speak any English and I only speak a very limited amount of Spanish. So I couldn't understand a word they said. However after one fight I said “El torro es fuerte, no?” and one said back to me “tranquilo!” We had a lot of laughs with them, that's for sure. I even managed to get in a picture with one of them while wearing his awesome hat that he tried to throw in the ring but didn't have the distance, he said in Spanish it was because he had “one too many cervezas.”

Like I said before, we are currently in Barcelona. Barcelona is a beautiful city on the water! We met up with one of my friends from college named Linnell. It is great to see her again since she has been in Spain for almost year. It is also nice having someone who knows the area help show us around. We just got back from a festival in a smaller city nearby which included people standing on top of each other (about 5 people high!!) and lots of firecrackers/fireworks. It was a great way to spend the fourth of July! Hope you all have a good 4th!