In Catalonia, the last bull has been killed by a matador’s sword. In January, a ban on bullfighting takes effect in the region and Sunday’s corrida in La Monumental bullring was the last of the season, and, probably, the last ever. There is still the possibility that an appeal against the ban will flourish, although a ruling is still a long way off, but fans and opponents of bullfighting behaved as if Sunday marked the end of an era. The Catalan ruling is indeed a landmark, although a ban has been in place in the Canary Islands for two decades. However, given the tangle of regional politics that lay behind Catalonia’s decision, it seems unlikely there will be a rash of similar bans … [Read more...] about Forget the Catalan ban, bullfighting was already in trouble
bullfighting ban
The king of the ring returns, but can he save bullfighting?
For some, he epitomizes the courage and dignity of the great matadors. For others, he is an artless brute, whose thirst for blood helps keep an absurd tradition alive. José Tomás divides opinion with the same drama with which he kills bulls. His skill and apparently reckless willingness to put his own life on the line make him the most talked-about torero in the world. Tomás has been away from bullfighting for over a year. He was severely gored in the leg at Aguascalientes, Mexico, in April of last year and as he was carried to the infirmary, leaving a trail of blood in his wake, many feared for his life. After a forced layoff, Tomás will return to the ring this summer, to the delight of … [Read more...] about The king of the ring returns, but can he save bullfighting?
Promise of death in the afternoon keeps bullfighting alive for fans
The bull struck its horn deep into his thigh. Seconds later, the same horn speared his neck. Before thousands of anxious eyes and terrified faces, Luis de Pauloba was rushed out of the bullring and into the infirmary. From there, an ambulance hurried him more than 150 kilometres from Cuenca to Madrid. Even after Pauloba had received four litres of blood transfusions, the doctors weren’t optimistic. “They told me that I was going to die because it had almost touched my brain,” Pauloba says. “It was a very unpleasant wound.” Remarkably, in less than five months, Pauloba was back in the ring. “I always had the mentality that after that wound I was going to bullfight. Physically, of … [Read more...] about Promise of death in the afternoon keeps bullfighting alive for fans
Silly season divides Spanish and English-speaking media
It’s August: the silly season. The month when newspapers and the media in general have little real news to cover, so they pay even more attention to B-list celebrity love triangles, local politicians’ sex-changes and garbage collectors’ concerns about being suspected of being paedophiles. That’s in Britain, at least (all those stories featured in The Sun on August 11). For the summer months illustrate better than any other the gulf dividing the Spanish media and its English-speaking counterparts. The summer holiday period is observed by Spain perhaps more assiduously than any other European country. Many bars, shops and other businesses shut down for most of August as ordinary … [Read more...] about Silly season divides Spanish and English-speaking media