Overview of Corridas del Toros or Bullfighting as spectacle - history, elements, 3 stages, controversy

1. “Corridas de Toros”
By Abdullah Amin Ghumman

2. Sequence
• Bullfighting – History
• Religious Roots
• Modern ‘Corrida’ – The Spectacle
• The Bullfight – Main Elements
• First Stage – Tercio de Varas
• Second Stage – Tercio de Bandelliras
• Third Stage – Tercio de Muerte
• Big Business
• Bloodsport or Fine Art?
• Questions and Answers
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3. Bullfighting – History 1/2
• Spanish for ‘Bullfighting’
• The spectacle of bullfighting
has existed in one form or
another since ancient days
– It is now a popular sport
in Spain, Portugal, France,
Japan, Mexico, among
others
• Wall painting unearthed at
Knossos in Crete, around
2000 BC
• Were also popular
spectacles in ancient Rome
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4. Bullfighting – History 2/2
• The Moors from North
Africa changed
bullfighting significantly
• Was originally done on
horseback and reserved
for aristocracy
• 1724: Aristocracy banned
from bullfighting
• Thus began bullfighting by
Commoners who dodged
bulls on foot and unarmed
• Spread like wildfire
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5. Religious Roots
• The ‘Plaza de Toros’ or
the ‘Bull Ring’ is based
originally on Celtic-
Iberian temples
• Bulls were sacrificed to
gods
• Greek and Roman
influences converted it
into a spectacle
• Bulls played role in
religious ceremonies of
Iberian tribes
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6. Modern ‘Corrida’ – The Spectacle
• Modern ‘Corrida’ or
Bullfighting as a
spectacle emerged by
1726
• Pioneers like Francisco
Romero of Ronda, Spain
introduced elements of:
– ‘esloque’ (the sword) or
– ‘muleta’ (the small cape
used in last part of the
fight)
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7. The Bullfight – Main Elements 1/3
• Usual structure
followed in Spain
– 3 Matadors, 6 Bulls
• ‘Banderilleros’ &
‘Picadors’ (assistants)
• ‘Paso Doble’ (march
rhythmic) music
– Costume
• Silk Jacket
• ‘Montera’ (hat)
• Traje de Lucas (suit of
lights)
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8. The Bullfight – Main Elements 2/3
• The bull enters the arena
through the ‘Toril’ (the
Bull pen gate)
• Bull is greeted with a
series of maneuvers or
passes
– Basic cape maneuvers are
called ‘Veronicas’
• Named after the woman
who held a cloth to Christ
on his way to the Crucifixon
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9. The Bullfight – Main Elements 3/3
• Fighting Bulls charge
anything that moves
– Centuries of breeding
• Bulls selected for corridas
live one year longer
• Novilleros (beginners)
– Fight bulls at least 3 years
old
• Full Matadors
– Fight bulls at least 4 years
old
• The fight itself is divided
into 3 stages
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10. First Stage – Tercio de Varas 1/2
• ‘Tercio de Varas’ means
“the lancing third”
• The Bull is tested for
ferocity by the
‘matador’ and the
‘banderilleros’ with the
magenta and gold
‘capote’ (cape)
• Then a ‘picador’ enters
on horseback with a
‘vara’ (lance)
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11. First Stage – Tercio de Varas 2/2
• Then the Picador enters the arena on horseback
with a ‘vara’ (lance)
• He stabs the bull just behind the ‘Morrillo’ – a
mound of muscle on the bull’s neck – weakening
the neck muscles and leading to its first loss of
blood
• This encounter changes the behavior of the bull:
the distracted bull becomes more focused and
stays on a single target rather than charging at
everything that moves
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12. Second Stage – Tercio de Bandelliras
• ‘Tercio de Bandelliras’
means ‘the third of
bandelliras’
• Each bandelliros plants
two ‘bandelliras’ (sharp
barbed sticks) into the
bulls shoulders
• These anger and agitate
the bull but further
weaken it
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13. Third Stage – Tercio de Muerte 1/3
• ‘Tercio de Muerte’ means
‘the third of death’
• The matador re-enters
the ring alone with a
‘muleta’ (a small red
cape) and a sword
• The cape is used to
attract the bull – series of
maneuvers aimed at
wearing down the bull
and entertaining at the
same time
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14. Third Stage – Tercio de Muerte 2/3
• The individual maneuvers are
called ‘tandas’ (or series of
passes)
• At the end, the matador gets
the bull in a position so as to
stab it between the shoulders
and through the aorta or heart
• This is done, first, with a
‘estoque simulado’ (fake
sword) to entertain the crowd
• At the end, the matador
pierces the bulls heart with a
real sword known as ‘estoque
de verded’
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15. Third Stage – Tercio de Muerte 3/3
• If the matador has performed
well, the crowd waves white
handkerchiefs – the matador is
then awarded the ear of the bull
as a souvenir
• If his performance is exceptional,
he will be awarded 2 ears
• Very rarely, if the bull has
performed valiantly, the event’s
president may be petitioned to
grant it an ‘indulto’ (a pardon)
• If granted, it leaves the ring alive
and returns to its ranch where he
becomes a stud for life
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16. Big Business
• Over $1 billion ticket sales annually
• Million dollar series salaries for top matadors
– Sometimes they pay with injuries or their lives
• Matadors often fight up to 100 corridas per
year
– Carlos Arruza fights 33 corridas per month
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17. Bloodsport or Fine Art? 1/3
• For Animals Rights’ activists, the fact that
250,000 bulls die annually is inhuman
• Pope Pius V said: “Spectacles” such as
bullfights are “removed from Christian piety
and charity.” He wished that “these cruel and
base spectacles of the devil and not of man”
be abolished and he forbade attendance at
them under the penalty of excommunication.
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18. Bloodsport or Fine Art? 2/3
• BARCELONA has declared itself as an “anti-
bullfighting city”
• In January 2012, Catalonia officially banned
bullfighting
• 38 Catalan municipalities followed suit
• Main channel RTVE no longer broadcasts
bullfights
• In 2006, 72% of Spaniards showed no interest in
bullfighting
• That figure was 31% in 1990s
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19. Bloodsport or Fine Art? 3/3
• Ernest Hemingway said,
"Bullfighting is the only art in
which the artist is in danger of
death and in which the degree of
brilliance in the performance is
left to the fighter's honour.”
• It shows sophistication and verve
– it is a manifestation of man’s
glorious triumph over nature
• Like all true art, the art consumes
the artist, who often has to pay
for it with his/her life. Thus, it is
no different from poetry or
painting
– The famous matador Manolete is
no less an artist than Keats, Van
Gogh, or Schubert
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20. Thank You!

21. Question and Answers