What does bullfighting entail?

Answer 1

The bullfight opens with the paseo, or parade, of the participants. It is led by the mounted alguacil (marshal) who will ask the presidente for the symbolic keys to unlock the gate to the bull pen. All participants then clear the ring.

The first bull is let into the ring. The senior torero, the matador, watches as an assistant waves a bright yellow and magenta capote in front of the bull to make it charge. He watches this in order to determine the bull's qualities and mood, before taking over himself.

Then a Trumpet is sounded and the mounted picadores weaken the bull's tossing muscle by stabbing it with a puya (lance).

After 5 minutes the trumpet sounds and the banderilleros enter and try to artfully place three pairs of decorated barbed sticks into the bull's tossing muscle. Sometimes the matador, himself, will do this.

Another trumpet is sounded and the Matador now removes his montera (hat) and dedicates the death of the bull to the presidente, the crowd or a particular individual before beginning his faena, the final act of the fight. Meanwhile the assistants keep the bull occupied on the opposite side of the ring.

The faena which is the most beautiful and skillful terceo (third) of the fight where the matador must prove his courage and artistry. During the faena the matador uses the smaller red cape, the muleta, which is mounted on a short rod and extended with the sword. The sword is always held in the right hand but the muleta can be held with either. Usually the muleta, in left or right hand, This is a show, basically a dance with death and with one wrong move and the matador could become impaled on the horns of the bull. It is the matador's job to make this dance dramatic and artistic for the audience.

The faena continues until the matador has demonstrated his superiority over the bull. Once this is achieved the bull is ready to be killed. The matador stands some ten feet from the bull, keeping the bull fixed on the muleta and aims the espada between the shoulder blades. The matador attacks pushing the espada over the horns and deep between the shoulder blades. If the sword goes in to the hilt it is an estocada but if it hits bone it is a pinchazo or media-estocada. An estocada usually results in the bull dropping immediately to its knees and dying, but if the bull fails to die the matador may take the descabello (a sword with a short cross piece at the end) which he stabs into the bull's shoulder severing the spinal cord. Once the faena begins, the matador has 10 minutes to complete it and kill the bull. If he fails, a trumpet warning sounds. A second and third trumpet may be required if the matador has been unsuccessful. After a third aviso (warning) the bull is returned to the bull pen and killed there. Any aviso is a black mark against the matador's performance and when a bull is returned to the corral alive, it is a real disgrace.

Once the bull is dead, the matador will take a victory lap around the ring and may be awarded a trophy ear, two ears or two ears and a tail. In the early days of bullfighting the matador received little pay and an ear meant he could claim the meat of the animal.

The dead bull is then dragged by a team of horses to the butchers while the mono sabios (workers) smooth the sand in preparation for the next bull.