bullfights

[erik burns]

I'm torn on the bullfighting issue. But I don't think that the tens of
thousands of spaniards (and tourists) who follow this "sport" do so because
they think it's "sexy" -- that's a myth spurred on its merry way by The Sun
Also Rises (in which it was actually the young bullfighter and not the
bullfight which was sexy). Interestingly, there is a twist on the bullfight
in neighboring Portugal (where I live). Here the bull is not killed at the
end of the fight (at least not in the ring). Here the "hero" of the event is
the picador, who is honored for his horsemanship and his showmanship. He
works the bull into an exhausted frenzy through the normal tactics (i.e.
poking it with sharp sticks and bothering it with flags). Then comes the fun
part, known as the "forcado" -- here seven young men (volunteers) dressed in
traditional costumes line up in front of the bull in formation, with one
lucky guy in front. This fellow taunts the bull into charging, and then
"takes the bull by the horns." The bull shoves the man back into his friends
and the human mob aborbs the blow. Finally one of the men runs around to the
back of the bull and grabs the tail, and the bull is "caught." o.k., so a
lot of this qualifies as animal abuse and I don't like that on principle.
But very very frequently the bull snaps number one and sends him sprawling,
and in general the event is a bit more thrilling and man-vs-nature than the
Spanish version. That man-bull collision is often a remarkable and
unforgettable moment.

power? sex? how about spectacle?

cheers, erik