Today I saw my first bullfight (and maybe my last, since it was a lot to take in). Riley adn I basically lounged around all day on the "day of rest" but when evening rolled around, we went to see if we could get tickets to a bullfight that we knew was occuring in Seville that day. Since we are in Spain, we both wanted to see a bullfight very badly and decided to take the chance and see if we could get tickets. Fortunately, it was not hard at all. When we were about to enter into the section where our seats were located, the security guard stopped us and told us that he needed ot remove the plastic tops from our water bottles. This was very strange to us since in the US you cannot even bring outside food or drink into an event. We asked our host dad once we got back why he only asked for the top and Pablo told us that it is because they are afraid people will throw the water bottle at the bullfighter and they don't want the plastic top to hit them. It's a strange concept but apparently very common. The bullfight itself was so interesting because I never really knew what garnered applause and what didn't, so I just sort of followed the crowd. When we got into the arena, we found out that not only us, but basically every other person in our group had the same idea because we saw everyone there. It was also a cool experience for us because this event was tourist central, so not only were there tons of other Americans, but there were Brits, Germans, Swedes, and many more Northern Europeans present at this event. We got the cheap seats in the balcony, but they were still super close to the ring. If that location is the Spanish version of the nosebleeds, I'm not complaining. For as close as we were it may has well have been what we refer to as lower level seating.
Our view from the "nose bleeds"
The way that bullfights work is that there are three bullfighters and they each get two different bulls, so there are six rounds altogether. The rounds go by the strength and agility of the bulls, so the bullfighter who participates in the third and sixth round garners the most applause since he had the greatest challenge. There are different types of uniforms that the fighters wear as well. If a fighter has gold on their uniform, that means that they actually fight the bull and dodge it with the cape, but if they have silver on their uniform, they are only responsible for stabbing the bull to make it mad and therefore attack the bullfighter in gold. There are also novice bullfighters without silver and gold in the arena whose main purpose is to draw the bull's attention away from they bullfighter while he regroups or whatnot. The bullfighters are dressed to kill in their "suits of light" and are the heartthrobs of Spain; apparently many teenage girls have posters of bullfighters on their walls. This doesn't shock me because Riley and I both commented on how good looking all of the fighters were. It was also pretty when the sun would shine on the arena and their uniforms would literally light up.
Here are the "toreros" in their uniforms.The three in front are the ones in gold, the fighters.
This as the bullfighter who took on the third and sixth bulls. He was also our favorite ;)
There are also men who come out on horses (both of which are covered from head to toe in padding and shields). The bulls rams into the horse while the rider stabs it to provoke it. The whole experience was a lot to take in; PETA better not get anywhere near a fight like this. After the fight, the bulls are taken to a city where they are cooked and are apparently delicious and served as a very expensive dish. While it is a bit of a culture shock to us, we were told that the bulls would be killed anyways, and to die this way is an honor rather than just merely being slaughtered.
The fight fulfilled all expectations that I had and I'm really excited that I go to see one while I'm here in Spain, and apparently some of the best bullfighting is done in Seville.
The horse in the back is the one I was talking about with all of the padding
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