Our first bullfight for all of us! We are all very excited to finally see a real la corrida de los toros at the most famous bullfighting ring in Spain, Las Ventas, during the festival of San Isidro (Madrid´s patron saint, and yet another excuse for Spaniards to party all week and take days off work).
This picture gives you a good idea of how popular bullfighting is in Spain. Almost the entire stadium was full, and although the actual bullfighters weren´t that great, it was a spirited crowd and we did get to see one of the toreros get gored in the leg--right after he plunged his sword into the bull for the kill. Then, he proceeded to freak out when the bull didn´t die immediately, but rather jolted forward and stabbed him in the thigh with his horn. That was the point in the bullfight when the torero catapulted himself over the arena´s wall like a frightened Spanish girlie man. It was fabulous. The crowd went CRAZY. That alone was totally worth the 30 euros per seat.The torero was more show than substance, totally brash and cocky without much elegance, and he really didn´t take many risks while passing the bull--but instead, he just struted around a lot and waved his red cape like he was in a Broadway show instead of bullfighting in Las Ventas. So in way, it wasn´t surprising that the girlie man got gored, and it pleased me.
Dan particularly liked it when the bulls charged the horses and almost tip them over. We had really great seats. We were actually much closer than this, but my camera makes objects look three times farther than away than how they actually appear.
Anyway, it was fabulous fun and I think Dan got a great intrduction to the true spirit of the bullfight, which is really all about honoring the strength and power of the bull than it is about senseless sport.
