Matadors and Bull Fighting

The matador is the only torero who uses the sword.

Matadors do not say ole, the aficionados(audience) yells ole when the matador performs well. With each good pass the matador makes with his cape, the audience will show its approval with that complement.

It is believed that a form of bullfighting was introduced to Spain during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius nearly 2000 years ago. Over the centuries the practice evolved into what we know today. When the Spanish conquered and colonized an area they introduced the spectacle, especially in parts of the Americas.

A torero is anyone involved in fighting the bull. A matador is a torero charged with killing the bull. All matadores are toreros but not all torerosare matadores. Therefore, bullfighter is the closest synonym, although not an accurate one.

Toreador is the French equivalent of torero but the word is never used in Spain unless being sung in the opera Carmen. A picador is a torero but not a matador.

Are you confused enough? If not, let me know and I will see if I can confuse the issue even more.

As far as is known, yes (Franco reigned well into postwar times). It may have been suspended during the Civil War(Spanish)-l936-39 and during World war Ii for manpower and resource reasons. as far as is known it carried on its bloody course during the Franco regime.

The picador is a horse-mounted member of the matador's cuadrilla. It is his job to push the point (puya) of a lance into the bull's tossing muscle. This cause the bull to lower its head and concentrate his charge more, with less tossing of the head. It serves notice to the bull that this is no game and is a serious fight. It also makes the work of the matador a bit easier.

To be honest, if they didn't use bulls, it could not be called a bullfight.

In France, bullfights are held in the cities of Nîmes, Arles, Dax, Toulouse, and others.

Matadors do not use 'flags.' They use two types of capes. The first is called a capote and it is a large, heavy rose colored cape used to test the bull and guide the bull when it first enters the bullring. The second is a smaller and lighter red cape that is suspended from a wooden stick and the matador's sword. The muleta is used in the final parts of the bullfight - the faena (performance)and the estocada (kill).The purpose of the capes is to be a lure and decoy. The bull has never encountered a man on foot before and thinks the cape is part of the man. However, the bull learns quickly and the matador dare not extend his performance too long as he will most assuredly be gored.

Anyone can participate if they are crazy enough to risk being trampled and gored. Participants must be at least 18 years old, run in the same direction as the bulls, not incite the bulls, and not be under the influence of alcohol.

That would rule me out as I would have to be deeply under the influence of alcohol to do that.

paseo

If a matador is unable to kill the bull because of a serious injury or death, one of the other matadores kills the bull. It is usually the senior matador who kills the bull and he does it with no fanfare.

Matador is Spanish for 'one who kills.' A matador de toros is 'one who kills bulls.'

Usually there are three matadores in each traditional bullfight and each fights 2 bulls.

Fighting bulls are NOT trained. They are wild animals as opposed to domestic cattle, and are raised on special ranches in Spain and Mexico. They are naturally quite aggressive and have a very athletic build. The first time a fighting bull meets a man of foot is when it enters the bullring.

People do not 'play' bullfights. It is not a sport but considered an artform.

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.

To view a video of a bullfight in Spain, click here. It features three matadores and includes Juan Jose Padilla who is returning to the bullring for the first time since nearly having his face torn off by a bull a few months earlier. He is the matador with the eye patch.

Toro toro

Cristina Sanchez is considered the first female bullfighter in Spain. However, there have been a number of female participants in the sport in Mexico, Concita Citron, for example. There have even been a few U.S. ladies taking up the challenge - Patricia McCormick and Bette Ford. All of these predate Cristina Sanchez.

There is much more to the Fiesta of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain, than just the running of the bulls. The running takes place each morning of a bullfight and only lasts about 5 or 6 minutes - the time it takes for the bulls to run from the corrales on the edge of town to the bullring a few blocks away. The actual bullfight usually takes place about 4:00 in the afternoon. In the meantime, people wine and dine and visit. There are a number of other cultural and social events that are part of the festival.

The bulls are butchered and the meat either sold to dealers or donated to charity. The matadores return to their hotel rooms and take a long shower and a brief rest before going out to eat with friends or catch a plane to the next gig. The public either returns home or heads out to a restaurant or bar to party for the evening.

The seats closest to the action and on the shady side are the most expensive. The least expensive are far from the action and in the sun.

The so-called sport was known to have existed among the Pagan Greeks. It is not known if they used professional or amateur athletes, or recruits from Prisoners of War or slaves, etc ( Slaves and Prisoners were used in the Roman Gladiatorial combats). As the Greeks and Romans were frequently at war- it makes sense Greek POW"s were enslaved and used as gladiators- such as Spartacus- who was a Greek, a war-like Spartan as the name suggests.