Corrida de Toros

Yesterday the girls and I went into Madrid for our first bullfight (corrida de toros). Everyone told us girls we were going to hate it and Kendal’s host mom was worried we were going to end up crying at the match. It ended up being one of the coolest things I have done in Spain so far! First, a brief introduction to bull fights…There are 6 bulls in total that are killed, and three toreros (matadors) so each gets to fight with 2 bulls. There are four rounds I believe, in the first, the bull is let out into the ring and “warmed up” by a series of amateur toreros so the main torero can get a feel for the bull’s movement and actions. Then the picadores come out, they are men on horses with lances. When the bull attacks the horse it gives the torero a clue to which side the bull favors to attack. After this round, the amateur matadors work with the bull again, and then the banderilleros come out. These men have “banderillas,” colorful sticks in which they run and stab into the bulls back muscles. Finally the main torero is the only one in the ring with the bull. He does a series of passes trying to impress the audience, and if he has a good pass the whole crowd will yell “¡OLE!” Finally the torero finishes the bull off with a sword into his back. If the audience thinks it has been a good match they wave white handkerchiefs in the air. If the torero has a good match he can ‘win’ one or both of the bulls ears. Receiving the bull’s ears is a sign of good luck in Spain. (Sorry if that explanation was a little graphic).
The first bull we saw was killed so cleanly, it died instantly and (I think because of his clean kill) the torero won BOTH of the bull’s ears. The Spanish people sitting around us kept talking about how uncommon it is to win both! The next bull of this torero, he won another ear so three all together for the day. At the end of the whole fight, people raised this matador on their shoulders cheering and taking pictures; it was an awesome celebration. None of the other bulls were killed as cleanly (which was sad) but the first one was so amazing to watch. The two other matadors each won one ear total, so they were alright compared to the other torero. I feel kind of terrible for actually enjoying the bull fight since everyone says how horrible it is and such; I’m hoping this doesn’t make me a terrible person, but it was so awesome to experience a tradition that has been around forever, something that all the spaniards got so into cheering/ shouting “Ole!” from the stands, waving their white flags, throwing clothing (jackets and hats) into the ring, it was awesome. It’s probably cliché to say, but I felt like I absorbed so much traditional spanish culture just by being a part of the crowd, and by seeing a good fight.