Plaza de Toros
On Tuesday morning I visited Sevilla´s bullring, reputed to be the oldest in Spain and one of the most beautiful. In fact, it was probably here (and nearby Rhonda) that bullfighting on foot--instead of horseback--began in the 18th century.
I went on an interesting, half hour tour of the ring, which included a small museum with artifacts dating to the earliest bull fights. I´ve always been curious how this sport came about. Too many bulls and not enough to do? I learned at the museum that bullfighting originated out of a military training exercise. At first, soldiers on horseback practiced knocking faux heads off of a statue in the center of a ring. This is depicted in the painting below, and aside that are photos of the original statue and four of the Pirates of the Carribean-esque heads. Eventually, this challenge was too easily mastered, and new challenges had to be introduced. Por fin, the bull. Fighting an massive agitated bull on foot does seem to me to be the zenith of all imaginable challenges.
By the way, the word "matador" translates literally as 'the killer'!
One odd thing I learned while on the tour: If the matador, aka the torrero, kills the bull in a particularly spectacular manner (apparently there is a complicated point system), he/she is given the ear of the bull as a souvenir. This seems very odd to me... what on earth is the matador going to do with it once he gets home? Use it as a paper weight? Some of the bullheads at the museum were indeed missing ears, signifying that they died 'spectacular deaths'. Lucky bulls.
I enjoyed seeing the ring and learning about bullfighting, but I don´t plan to attend a bullfight while in Spain. I went to one about 10 years ago while in Guanajuato, Mexico. For me, once was enough. However, putting aside my general feelings about this ´sport´, I will say one thing: the Sevilla ring has fantastic poster art!
I went on an interesting, half hour tour of the ring, which included a small museum with artifacts dating to the earliest bull fights. I´ve always been curious how this sport came about. Too many bulls and not enough to do? I learned at the museum that bullfighting originated out of a military training exercise. At first, soldiers on horseback practiced knocking faux heads off of a statue in the center of a ring. This is depicted in the painting below, and aside that are photos of the original statue and four of the Pirates of the Carribean-esque heads. Eventually, this challenge was too easily mastered, and new challenges had to be introduced. Por fin, the bull. Fighting an massive agitated bull on foot does seem to me to be the zenith of all imaginable challenges.
By the way, the word "matador" translates literally as 'the killer'! One odd thing I learned while on the tour: If the matador, aka the torrero, kills the bull in a particularly spectacular manner (apparently there is a complicated point system), he/she is given the ear of the bull as a souvenir. This seems very odd to me... what on earth is the matador going to do with it once he gets home? Use it as a paper weight? Some of the bullheads at the museum were indeed missing ears, signifying that they died 'spectacular deaths'. Lucky bulls.
I enjoyed seeing the ring and learning about bullfighting, but I don´t plan to attend a bullfight while in Spain. I went to one about 10 years ago while in Guanajuato, Mexico. For me, once was enough. However, putting aside my general feelings about this ´sport´, I will say one thing: the Sevilla ring has fantastic poster art!
