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It is liked as well as disapproves by others but for a Spanish person a Madrid Bullfight is essential part of its culture and tradition and according to some their journey to Madrid is incomplete without visiting famous bull fight ring in the city Madrid Plaza de Toros. Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France, Latin and American countries where a bull or more bulls are ritually killed in a bullring as a public spectacle.
Historically, bullfighting has its roots into the prehistoric bull worship and sacrifice. The killing of the sacred bull was considered as an iconic act of Mithras, which was commemorated in the mithraeum wherever Roman soldiers were stationed. The oldest evidence of bull fight has been witnessed at celtiberian tombstone from Clunia and the cave painting “El toro de hachos”, both of the places are situated in Spain. It has also been said that Bull fighting was been introduced by Hispania by the Emperor Claudius as a substitute for gladiators when he imposed a ban over gladiatorial combat. Bullfighting spread from Spain to its Central and South American colonies and in the 19th century to France, where it developed into a distinctive form in its own right. During religious festivities and royal weddings bullfighting used to be organized at local plaza where local men used to compete for royal favor and masses used to enjoy entire excitement over there. The Spanish fighters introduced habit of fighting on foot around 1726. Francisco Romero is considered first to fight a bull on feet.
Madrid Bullfight
Bullfights occur at the Madrid Plaza de toros (Madrid bullring) every Sunday afternoon from March to October at 1900hrs and daily during the Fiesta San Isidro. In the east of the central district and located on one of Madrids main thoroughfares, Calle Alcala, the Madrid bullring is served by its own Metro station Ventas, regular bus services and is only a 5€ taxi ride from downtown Madrid. The Madrid transport authority provides extra services during the fight calendar having 23,000 people leaving an event centre at the same time can mean these are close to full and you may have to wait a while. This is also true when the bullring is being used for concerts of shows such as the motorcross in September of every year. Tickets for a Madrid bullfight from the ticket booths that are called “Taquillas” and are situated at the plazas, though these may be sell out in advance if a famous Torero is performing.
Bullfighting Explained
A Madrid bullfight is consisted of about six bulls & three matadors and each matador provided with two assistants to carry out the bull fight. Over a period of two hours the matadors will each kill two bulls or “toros” as they are known in Spain. The fight starts with when matadors and their assistants enter into the bullring and parade in front of the crowd in order of stature. After it, matadors and their assistants go into to their respective areas behind the Madrid bullring safety boards and their wait for 1st bull. Before the release the master of the ceremonies announces with a handcaried billboard details of the farmer, origin and weight of the bull. This further starts bullfight in an attractive and radical manner.
In start two assistants enters the bullring and provoke bull into making a number of passes. This is exactly done to judge the health and agression of the bull while the matador keeps on watching things. After provoking the bull quite enough the Matador enters into the ring. Now using his cape the matador lets bull to charge him. When bull charges matador he maintains a rigid pose and guides the bull around his body. Skilled matadors do the thing in a manner so that the cape does not leave the ground. After bull being exhausted the bull is being killed. The crowd after the killing cheers upon the merit of fight. A successful matador is rewarded with an ear, two ears and two ears and the tail.
In poll conducted in 2002 about 68.8% of Spaniards express “no interest” in bullfighting while 20.6% expressed “some interest” and 10.4% “a lot of interest. The poll also showed variation in opinion according to generation wise. 51% of at around age of 65 and older expressed interest by young expressed their desire into around 23%. Its popularity even region wise varies in Spain as Galicia and Catalonia with 81% and 79% of those polled expressing no interest. Interest is greatest in the areas of north, centre, east and south. On 18 December 2009, the parliament of Catalonia, one of Spain’s seventeen Autonomous Communities, approved by majority the preparation of a law to ban bullfighting in Catalonia.