On Sunday morning, a group of us went to to El Rastro, a historically huge and diverse flea market in Madrid. It is only open on Sundays and puts any market I've ever seen to shame. The main drag was a street (maybe a mile long) with three rows of vendors...and it still branched off into side streets and plazas. It was full of people the whole time we were there. The scared shopper in me left me pretty overwhelmed by the options (antique vendors, knife/sword sellers, music, clothes, purses, leather, table cloths, souvenirs, etc.), but it was a great experience.
That night, we trekked over to Las Ventas for my first bullfight. What an experience! It felt so nice to be back in an arena/stadium to watch a sport, but I had no idea what I was in for. There is a great deal of pageantry as trumpets sound to welcome the matadors into the stadium. They are all presented to the president of the league/club (Las Ventas is like the Yankee Stadium of the bullfighting world), and so are the armored horses and supporting cast. The first bull runs out as 6 or 7 matadors wield bright pink capes to steer the bull into the center of the ring (right in front of us...we were about 4 rows up!) and the main matador of that fight goes and gets control of the bull. The president waves a white cloth when the matador has control and two armored horses walk out, each carrying a man with a spear. The matador then aims the bull into those horses (they ram the horses pretty hard, but the horses are protected from the horns, I think) and the man on the horse spears the bull between the shoulders. The president waves the flag again when enough damage has been done, then special matadors come out and run up to the charging bull to spear it again (in the shoulders to weaken the bull). When all six spears are in (and the bull is bleeding a lot!...sorry Mom if you're reading this), the matador comes back out for the main event. He has a red cape (along with his very traditional uniform), walks to the center, flips his hat to the sand, presents himself to the president, then goes to work.
He brings the toro (bull) close to him, but under the cape several times. I think this is to examine how that specific bull attacks and to wear the bull down a little bit. He gains control and makes sure the bull is focused on the cape. Wherever that focus is, it is amazing how the matador will brush up to the charging animal, then turn his back to it as he plays to the crowd. Then, he changes to a heavier sword, continues drawing the bull close to him, then goes for the attack where he drives the sword into the bull's back. After that, several matadors run out until the bull finally drops.
This is one of the bloodiest and most gruesome things I've ever experienced. The three of us who saw the fight (each night, there are 6 of these...one matador is crowned "torrero" and keeps the bull's ear because he was the best) were appalled at the cruelty. Still, we were amazed at the courage of these matadors to be close enough to this bull to have its blood on their uniforms (and get flipped as one matador did...took a horn to the chest!). It's a sport that I'd rather not see again and a big part of me wishes it didn't happen, but it's a big part of Spanish tradition that I think we're all glad we know more about.
Thank you for continuing to read this...leave me comments to let me know what you think...or that you're reading it at all!
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