My grandfather loves bullfighting, when he was young he was an amateur bullfighter; but one day one bull struck him and he lost his right kneecap, as a result he couldn’t walk for a long time.
The first known bull cults were around 1500 B.C in the Greek island of Crete, the rite of this cult consisted in jumping over the bulls. We can trace the origins of Spanish bullfighting back to 711 A.D. This is when the first bullfight took place in celebration for the crowning of King Alfonso VIII. There are some differences between the bullfights then and now. In earlier times the bullfigther was on a horse, so that common people couldn’t participate because only knights had horses. Bullfighting was originally a sport for the aristocracy and took place on horseback. King Felipe V banned the aristocracy from taking part because he thought that it was a bad example to the public. After the ban commoners accepted the sport as their own and, since they could not afford horses, developed the practice of dodging the bulls on foot, unarmed. This transformation occurred around 1724.
Banderillas
What is the difference between a capote and a muleta ?
A capote is a big work cape, magenta on the outside and yellow (sometimes blue) on the inside. It is used by all the bullfighters but in the final tercio the matador or novillero will change it for the muleta, made from red flannel on a wooden stick, which he will use for the faena.
In the 19th century bullfighting was mainly to demonstrate bravery and to kill the bull, but in the 20th century Belmonte and Joselito developed it, with the aim to demostrate skill before killing the bull. In the years after the war, because of the lack of food, the bulls were much smaller.
Hemingway (white pants) tries his luck at bullfighting during the "amateurs" in 1925.
Glossary
Match the words in the table below with their corresponding definitions on the right
A |
torero |
B |
corrida |
C |
afeitado |
D |
picador |
E |
banderillero |
F |
rejoneador |
G |
tercio |
H |
faena |
I |
plaza de toros |
J |
brindis |
| 1 |
A
bullring. As the sun will predominantly shine on one side of the
ring, that section is known as the "Sol" (Sun) and seats
are cheaper there. The side predominently in the shade is known
as the "Sombra" (shade) |
| 2 |
Before commencing
the faena, the matador or novillero will doff his montera (hat)
to the President of the bullring and ask permission to kill the
bull. He may then offer a salute and dedicate the death of the bull
to someone in the audience, another torero or the whole audience
itself. |
| 3 |
He fights the
bull from horseback in the style of the Portuguese "cavaleiros"
using rejones de castigo (punishment spears) in place of a pica,
banderillas and a rejón de muerte (spear of death)
in place of an estoque |
| 4 |
This literally
means "shaved". It refers to an illegal practice that
consists in taking off the tip of the bull's horns. As the bull
uses its horns to measure distance, in theory this means it should
always fall short when trying to catch the torero |
| 5 |
He uses a pica
(also known as a vara) which is a lance with a steel point (puya)
from on horseback to weaken the bull's neck muscles so that its
head is lowered for the kill |
| 6 |
There are three
tercios (thirds) to both novilladas and corridas.
The first tercio involves the caping of the bull by the matador
or novillero and the act of the picador; the second tercio is
the act of banderillas and the final tercio consists
of the faena and the death of the bull. |
| 7 |
Bullfight |
| 8 |
It is all the
work done with a muleta by a matador or novillero in the final and
most important tercio of the bullfight |
| 9 |
Bullfighter. |
| 10 |
He places the
banderillas (barbed sticks), into the bulls back. |