Bullfighting!! It was definitely a highlight of the whole trip! The first fight was a little shocking (even though we were well aware of how it would end), but after that it was quite entertaining! They do six full fights each evening and it lasted a couple of hours. The arena was filled with mostly locals and it was fun to be surrounded by them at an event that is so cultural to that country. They were SO into it and it was really quite interesting to watch. I've got TONS of pictures from the night. (WARNING : the bull dies).
Plaza de Toros was really beautiful and huge
There was an opening ceremony of sorts to get the evening started
Tons & tons of Spaniards were there
On the way in, we had a confusing interaction with
the concession stand seller and I thought I ended
up with a bottle of water. Turns out Aquarius
is more of a carbonated lemon drink, but it was tasty
(not nearly as good as Lemon Fanta, though)!
The whole process of the bullfight is fascinating...
once you get over how really horrible it is
It starts with a group of men in amazing costumes and bright socks
with bright capes
They tease the bull mercilessly and sometimes have to run out of
harm's way and hide behind crevices in the ring wall
Next come the fighters on horses with swords.
The cape guys attempt to draw the bull near to
the horses and the man on the horse stabs
the bull with the sword
You could see that the horse fighter went for
the bull in the exact same spot near his neck
each time. Everything was extremely
methodical and planned out. There was definitely
a plan and purpose for each fighter and each move
Next, one fighter pulls out these sword type things and goes
after the bull. See the man in the fancy pink costume with
no cape holding 2 white things? Those are his weapons.
The cape guys draw the bull towards the weapon holder and he
stabs the bull. The weapons are left hanging, inserted in the bull.
This happens a couple of times - here you can see the
bull already has 2 weapons hanging from him and
another fighter is about to stab him with 2 more.
The fighter has to stab and RUN!
More RUNNING after a successful stab
The poor bull has now been worn down by the fighters with capes
and stabbed multiple times and is bleeding. But, that's not all.
By this time, the bull would start to struggle. He
was worn out and moving slowly and sometimes
had trouble even standing up. This is when the real
Bullfighter (the Matador) with the RED cape comes out.
The Matador carries a small sword and has one goal -
to strike the bull in a certain spot right between the eyes
that causes the bull to die immediately. Once the fighter
is in the correct position to hit the right spot, it all happens very quickly.
Trying to draw the bull nearer
I couldn't believe I captured this - I had no
idea the bull would run this guy over!!
It happened to this same Matador twice -
guess he wasn't very good?! The Matador
finished his fight, but then they had to carry him
out of the ring, so I guess his 2 run-ins really hurt!
As soon as the bull is pierced with that last sword, he falls immediately
And they parade the poor, beaten bull out of the ring
If you look closely in this next picture, you can see a few people are waving white flags.
This seemed to be some method of voting. After the last fight, the crowd went CRAZY
and everyone was waving their white flags.
Also, after the last fight when the crowd was going crazy with their white flags,
they were also turning towards and yelling at the people in the box seats
directly above our seats. We tried to ask around, but there were only 2 good English
speakers near us and they also had no clue. From what the semi-English speaking man
next to me said, it was the President sitting in the box and he gets to make the
decision as to the winner. The crowd was appealing to him with their choice
of the final fighter, but apparently the President chose no one that night. We still
aren't completely sure and we have no idea who this President was...the President of
this fight? The President of all bullfighting? The President of SPAIN?!
After bullfighting, we went to a restaurant, Casa Minga, that was
a bit off the beaten path, but was totally worth the trek. It
was an Asturian (another region of Spain) restaurant and
they pretty much just served chicken and cider.
They also told us we needed to get the salad, which wasn't very good, but
the chicken and the cider were SO yummy! And it was a neat little
restaurant. We really enjoyed it!
Lots & lots of cider!
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