Spanish bullfighting is probably the most common type of bullfighting that we know.As dangerous as the sport is, it has a long cultural history that makes it so famous. It’s also fascinating to look at and people love the spectacle that it presents.Spanish bullfighting is not only practiced in Spain but also in countries like Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Columbia, and Ecuador. The reason this style of bullfighting is so famous is that it is a direct physical contest. Mostly humans, but also sometimes other animals, attempt to subdue or immobilize a bull publically.This sport is very dangerous. It isn’t safe for the bullfighters or the bulls. Generally, a red cape is used to incite the bull, even though bulls cannot see color. The bulls get angry and attack the moving object. But why is a dangerous sport such as this still so famous? If you are here to learn more about this tradition, then let us delve into the dangerous yet fascinating tradition of Spanish bullfighting. You’ll get to know all the facts about this sport right here.If you like this fact-filled article and want to read more articles like this, then please be sure to check out Spain religion facts and Spanish empire facts.The Cultural Aspect Of Spanish BullfightingBeing one of the most famous and oldest traditions, Spanish bullfighting has a rich cultural history. So let’s take a look at the cultural aspect of bullfighting.During the time of the Roman empire, Spain used to be a part of the empire. That’s why Spanish bullfights originated from and were also used as a substitute for the Gladiator games that were famous in ancient Rome.The first-ever bullfight was held in 711 A.D. It was called the ‘Corrida de toros’ and was held to honor the coronation of King Alfonso VIII. In the beginning, they performed bullfights on horseback. This meant that the person who was fighting the bull rode a horse instead of them standing on their own two feet like in today’s bullfights. It was mostly a sport of the aristocrats when it first began. They also used to use a lot of weapons to defeat the bulls. But King Felipe V put an end to this tradition. He thought the nobles shouldn’t participate in a sport that was so violent and bloody.However, the sport was so famous that commoners still continued the trend even after it was banned for the upper class. They started fighting the bulls on feet and they also used smaller, more commonly found weapons to do so. The refined and artistic form of bullfighting that we see today, with all the dodging and stabbing, wasn’t developed until 1726.Matadors, the name for the people who fight the bulls in the ring, follow a strict code of conduct that originated from this time. We call the place where the fighting happens the bullring or tauromaquia. The oldest bullring that exists today is situated in a town called Ronda and it’s known as the Plaza de Toros de Ronda bullring. But there are also bullrings in the cities of Madrid, Pamplona, and Seville. These cities also have an ancient and rich bullfighting history.The bullfighting season in Spain is typically from spring to fall. And Sundays are the most popular days of going to watch the bullfights. But bullfighting is not only restricted to Spain as countries like Portugal and France also have a history of this sport. The Portuguese variant is famous for their ‘bloodless bullfights’, as they do not kill the bull at the end of a fight.In France, the law bans the torture of animals. But in Southern France, bullfights still take place. In Latin America, especially Mexico, there is a rich tradition and culture surrounding bullfighting. The conquistadors brought bullfighting to Latin and South America and it has become a part of the Hispanic culture. Mexico City has the largest bullring in the world called Plaza de Toros Mexico, which can sit around 41,262 spectators. It is also the biggest bullring. Bullfighting began in Mexico in the 16th century.Other South American countries like Peru, Venezuela, and Ecuador also have a culture of bullfighting. Surprisingly enough, there are some Asian cultures that also have some form of bullfighting. In most cultures, the matador or the central bullfighter is the star of the show even though they have other people helping them out.Even though it’s usually men who become matadors, there are also some amazing female matadors. So as we can see, even though this practice seems a little inhumane, it has a rich cultural background.Women And Spanish BullfightingAs we have mentioned before, even though the profession of being a matador is for males, there are also a lot of female bullfighters as well.As with most male-dominated fields, women were not originally allowed to partake in bullfighting. Many places, including Spain, had a ban on women taking part in bullfights. But if we trace our steps back in history, we will see that women used to take part in this sport a long time ago.There are renditions of females taking part in bullfights that date back to the late 18th to the early 19th century. Francisco Goya, a Spanish painter, depicted a woman bullfighter on horseback sparring with a bull in an etching work named ‘La Pajuelera’. During the Spanish Civil War that took place in the ’30s, women were exiled to other countries if they wanted to pursue bullfighting.In Spain, and many other Latin American and Asian countries, women were banned from bullfighting altogether. In Spain, the ban on female bullfighters was lifted in the year 1974. But due to the stigma around a female bullfighter, women were not able to complete their ‘alternativa’.This is a traditional event or ceremony through which a bullfighter reaches their matador status. Christina Sanchez, a Spanish bullfighter, was the first woman to gain the matador status when she completed the ceremony in 1996. Female matadors are often called ‘matadora’ or ’torera’ but a lot of them like to be called ‘matador’ and ’torero’ like the male bullfighters.Some of the most famous Spanish female bullfighters of all time are Christina Sanchez, Nicolasa Escamilla, Juana Cruz, Conchi Rios, and many more. Some female bullfighters also perform on horseback.There are some amazing famous female bullfighters from other countries as well. For example, USA’s Patricia McCormick and Bette Ford. France’s Marie Sara and Lea Vicens, with the latter being one of the very few female horseback bullfighters. Mexico’s Lupita Lopez and Hilda Tenorio. Portugal’s Sonia Matias, Ana Batista, Joana Andrade.Women are making a name for themselves in what is typically a male-dominated field at a great rate. The dress code for female bullfighters is the same as the male bullfighters, as the women choose to dress like their male counterparts. There are workshops that specialize in making these flamboyant costumes for the matadors and matadoras. These costumes are tailored to fit the bullfighters perfectly so that they can perform their best.Since they are tailored, it doesn’t matter if the fighter is a male or a female, they’ll be able to perform without any problems. And even though it happens very rarely, much like everything else, depictions of female bullfighters can also be found in pop culture. In 2002, Pedro Almodovar made a film called ‘Habla Con Ella’ (Talk to Her) which was a movie about a female bullfighter called Lydia. This movie makes people sympathize with female bullfighters and the obstacles they face in their careers. But since the world is changing, we might be able to see more female bullfighters in the future.Spiritual Aspects Of Spanish BullfightingBeing a very old tradition, Spanish bullfighting features a spiritual aspect that has both rules and beliefs that people diligently follow.If we really want to learn about the spiritual and emotional aspects of Spanish bullfighting, we have to learn why people feel so strongly about it. There are obviously people who love the tradition and culture of bullfighting, and there are also people who hate bull fighting, particularly those people who are passionate about animal rights.Let us first look at the people who support what is obviously a violent sport and why they love it so much. The first thing to know about bullfighting aficionados is the fact that most of them don’t see bullfighting as sport, but as art. There are some serious points behind this claim as bullfighting has made its place in most forms of media throughout the years. The most famous of these is Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Death in the Afternoon’.In most of them, bullfighting is depicted as a ‘dance of death’ as if to say that the bullfighters look death in the eye every day while still managing to make a graceful spectacle of it. It’s also a metaphysical metaphor of the struggle between man and beast. It seems as if it’s a spiritual test of bravery and skills that ennobles both man and beast. In reality, however, things are very different. To understand this, we have to take a dive into the customs and stages of traditional bullfighting.They use a special type of bull in traditional Spanish bullfighting. It’s called a Toro Bravo, which is an Iberian bull. There are about 50 bullfighting schools in Spain and aspiring matadors take lessons in these bullfighting schools from as young as 14 years old. They use fake bulls to train the trainees, in the beginning, and after that, they train on bull calves.They prepare the bull for the fight well before the fight actually takes place. The bulls are abused and tortured, which weakens and disorients these animals. So even they may seem ferocious and angry in the ring, they are actually just confused and defensive. They shorten the animal’s horns with a hacksaw and they smear petroleum jelly on their eyes to blur their vision.They also weaken the bull’s hearing and breathing power using a variety of ways that most people would consider torture. This makes it much easier for humans to kill the animal at the end of the fight. In the first stage of the actual fight, sometimes even before it, the fighting bull is kept away from its herd in complete darkness to further disorient and confuse it. They are then released in the blinding lights of the arena with the help of harpoons to poke the animal. The bull enters after the matadors and their helpers enter.The actual fight is divided into three parts. The first stage is called Tercio de Varas. In this part, the matadors test the bull and its aggressiveness with the help of the waving red cape. The bull’s head and neck are also stabbed by the Picadores in this stage to weaken it. As a rule, a certain number of hits need to be made before proceeding to the next round. If a bull is able to injure a matador or matadora, then there are alternative matadors and matadoras waiting to replace them.The second round, called Tercio de Banderillas features the matadors stabbing the bull’s shoulder with barbed sticks. The bull loses a lot of blood and strength. In the last stage, also called Tercio de Muerte, the matador re-enters the ring with a cape and a sword. They attract the bull with the cape to do a series of artistic passes before finally using the sword to stab the bull in the aorta or the heart and kill it.Even though it is an old tradition with a lot of history and culture, it is still a practice that promotes animal cruelty. But aficionados will obviously not agree with this. Some of the most famous bullfights have gone down in history. One of the most historically celebrated of Spain is called Francisco Romero, the greatest matador. Joselito Gomez Ortega, another Spanish bullfighter is considered to be one of the greatest matadors of all time.There is also a bullfighting museum in Spain. So we can see that along with spiritual and cultural aspects, the emotional aspect is also important when it comes to bullfighting.Controversy And Criticism Of Spanish BullfightingBeing a violent practice that features the death of an animal on a regular basis, bullfighting has obviously gotten some negative attention throughout history and in recent years. It is banned in most countries and there are only a few countries where bullfighting is legal.There are many reasons behind people wanting to ban bullfighting. Not only is the sport extremely violent but also very unfair. So many animal rights are overlooked in order to keep these traditions in place. Bulls and bull calves are regularly killed in the ring, which is why many countries have strict laws against this brutal practice.Chile banned this sport in 1818, after gaining independence. Spain also introduced bullfights in Uruguay in 1776 but it was banned by the Uruguay government in 1912. Argentina also banned the sport in the year 1899. Bullfighting was banned in Cuba by the United States in 1899. Mexico also banned bullfighting for a while in 1890, but the ban was later abolished. Even in Spain, bullfighting was banned several times during the 18th and 19th centuries.Bullfighting was also present for some time in the Philippines. In the 21st century, however, bullfighting is punishable by law in most countries in the world. Especially the traditional corrida where the bull is killed in the ring. Some countries allow the Portuguese ‘bloodless’ variant as a form of entertainment.There are several cities that have declared that they are ‘anti-bullfighting cities’. One of these cities is Tossa de Mar in Spain. In these cities, even attending bullfights is a moral downfall. The Canary Islands, a Spanish Autonomous Community, became the first of its kind to ban bullfighting in 1991. Many other places have specific laws against bullfighting and the torturing and killing of animals.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Spanish bullfighting facts then why not take a look at Spanish music facts, or Spanish art facts.
Spanish bullfighting is probably the most common type of bullfighting that we know.
