Bullfighting.
I've heard over and over since I've been in Spain what an important event this is culturally for the Spanish.
Bullfighting is ingrained in Spanish culture... a stereotype emitted just as frequently as the importance of flamenco, and tapas.
The problem with this theory is that from what I have seen, bullfighting is not nearly so important to the Spanish culturally as we think. The Spanish themselves will say how important it is to Spain culturally, as if this were a phrase they practiced reciting since elementary school, but actions speak louder than words.
When asked about bullfighting, the stock answer I have gotten from Spaniards is almost always the same... "I went one time but never after that." They then typically make a hesitant face and shrug their shoulders saying, "It's really not for me."
So then, if most Spaniards I have talked to have only gone to a bullfight once in their life, how is this "cultural event" able to survive? And maybe a more poignant question – Is bullfighting even still relevant to Spanish culture?
First.
How is this practice able to survive?
I've gotten varied answers from different people.
A professor of mine proclaimed the cultural importance of bullfighting to Spain in class, but then he was quick to say that he had only ever gone to one event in his life. He said the one time he went the vast majority of the people at the spectacle were tourists all there taking photos.
I asked him why bullfighting was considered of such cultural importance if those actually participating in and patronizing the event were not Spanish.
He sat there and thought for a bit but then responded that the truth was bullfighting was probably on its way out. The youth, and he pointed to us in the class, are not very interested in it, and more and more the practice is on the decline. For example, he said, bullfighting is banned in Catalonia and Barcelona.
A girl in class spoke up and said that one of her Spanish friends told her that only "los ricos, los viejos, o los extranjeros" ("the rich, the old or the foreigners") go to bullfights.
"Los extranjeros"
This confirms a sad reality I had already seen on my own. Tourists in Spain believe that to have really experienced Spanish culture before leaving Spain they have to go to a bullfight. A phrase I’ve heard a disappointing number of times reiterates the sentiment: "How can I say I studied abroad for 4 months in Spain, and never saw a bullfight?"
The truth is, there really is this invisible but tangible pull to see a bullfight in Spain. I too have felt the attraction though I’ve promised myself I’ll never succumb to it. I think it’s mainly curiosity but there is also this strong association foreigners attach to Spain with bullfighting, so that if you don’t see one you feel as if you are missing out on something.
I'm here to tell you...you are not missing out on anything. There are so many more worthy and beautiful things that are much more representative of Spanish culture to be spending your time on.
So what about "Los viejos" and "Los ricos"?
When talking with my host mom, Loli, she confirmed there was definitely a bigger audience for bullfighting with the older crowds. And it sounds like its specifically older men.
As for the rich, I can't say definitively from any of my own personal experiences but bullfighting is an expensive sport, so it also makes sense to me that it would also draw a wealthier crowd.
So at this point, you may be wondering why I'm making such a big hullabaloo about bullfighting, or what exactly bullfighting is....
and if you have never looked into what really happens at a bullfight, I would highly recommend taking the time to look at these two websites:
http://www.stopbullfighting.org.uk/facts.htm
&
http://www.bullfightingfreeeurope.org
“The bull has wet newspapers stuffed into his ears; vaseline is rubbed into his eyes to blur his vision; cotton is stuffed up his nostrils to cut off his respiration and a needle is stuck into his genitals… He is kept in a dark box for a couple of days before he faces the ring: the purpose of this is to disorientate him.” (StopBullFighting.Org) *a quote regarding the bull's pre-fight treatment*
Bullfighting kills an animal for show.
That might be fairly obvious to some of you but I know others may have never realized the bull is actually
killed in a bullfight.
As naive as it sounds, before my first time in Spain, I never knew the bull was killed in a bullfight. In fact, until earlier this afternoon, I didn’t know that the bulls from the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona actually got killed after their run too.
The images we are shown when we are younger, if any of bullfighting, are filled with pretty colored flags and movements that almost look like a dance, it would be odd to immediately equate that with death. But death for the bull it is. And there's really no "fight" about it, because it is death for the bull every time.
A logical question to be asking now would be, "How is bullfighting different than killing any other animal we eat for food?"
I would argue that the answer is not in the result; rather it is in the intention -
One act kills with the intent to provide nourishment as food, while the other act kills with the intent to provide entertainment.
How anyone can derive pleasure from an other creature's pain is beyond me, and it's part of the reason I've taken such a strong stance against this practice. As an animal, the bull has absolutely no say in what's happening to him, he has no option left but to fight the unfair fight for his life against the matador.
So, is bullfighting still relevant to Spanish culture?
My answer has to be no. Thankfully, there seems to be little interest in the practice among most Spanish nowadays. But tourists retain the misconception that there is and so continue to patronize the sport.
If you come to Spain enjoy...
the calmer pace of life,
the mid-day siestas,
the balance between work and play,
musicians on the street,
the tapas with friends late at night before spending the rest of the night with them in the city,
if you're in Andalusia go see a flamenco espectáculo (sooo worth it!),
walk EVERYWHERE,
laugh until your stomach hurts and your eyes are lined with tears,
then look around at where you are and smile because you are there....
But don't be tricked into going to a bullfight to find spanish "culture."
You'll find what I argue is a more authentic and beautiful spanish culture, just about everywhere else.
I've given a whole lot of my opinion on this blog post, so don't let me be the only one gabbing, please let me know your own thoughts!!
To new experiences and many thoughts,
xx
Gaby
