What does the person hold when he is bullfighting in Spain?

Answer 1

The Bull Fighter can hold several things during the course of a bullfight depending on the portion of the bullfight.

In the first 3rd of a bullfight the bullfighter uses a large two handed cape called the Capote.

In the second 3rd he normally does nothing, but he can plase one or more pairs of bandarillas. These are wooden sticks with a piece of barbed steel in one end. The bandarillas are wrapped in colored crepe paper.

In the last 3rd he will work with a small cape called a muleta and a fake sword that he uses to open the muleta. Later in the last third he switches a real sword for the fake sword. If all goes well he kills the bull with a single estocada, a single stab of the word, through the heart and/or the aorta.

If all does not go well and he is unable to kill the bull with a straight stroke through the bull's heart he may resort to a sword with a cross piece about 4-5 inches from the point or with a weird shaped knife. The knife begins at the point and widens to a point on either edge near the main point. From there it narrows again to a normal width and goes back toward the hilt.

Either implement is meant to sever the animal's spinal cord.