Elyse and I decided to go to the Plaza De Toros De Sevilla to watch a corrida this past Thursday, the 6th, along with some other people from the Semester in Spain program.
(This Plaza de Toros de Sevilla is a very very well known arena and the men that get to fight bulls here work very hard to be able to have the opportunity to fight here!)
We bought the cheapest tickets and walked into the Plaza to find our seats. The Plaza de Toros was beautiful! The building was completed in 1765 and knowing that it has been around that long was amazing to us. Our seats had a perfect view of the entire arena so we could see everything very clearly.
The stands were filled with people of all ages, from young kids to grandparents and every age in between. It truly is a family event for some people, and it is just something that they have been going to forever. It is so normal for them to come watch these corridas.
This is the very beginning of the whole corrida, the toreros are standing on the left, the you see the picadores on the horses, and on the far right are the horses that take the bull out of the arena in the end.
Going into the corrida I had no idea what to expect at all. I know this seems kind of silly, but I didn't know that they actually killed the bull until the matador killed in in the end. I went through a huge variety of emotions throughout the night. First I was scared out of my mind because I was expecting the worst, bloodiest fight ever. Then I was really sad for the horses that were getting charged at, then I was getting sad for the bull because he was getting so tired and helpless. I wanted to cry a little bit at the end because I was so overwhelmed with emotions, and I was oddly relieved at the end of the fight. It wasn't as bad as I had expected and there was barely any blood at all! Elyse and I made it through the first fight! As the fights continued on we got more and more relaxed and involved in the event. We even started rooting for the matadores and getting really into it!
The entire event lasts about three hours. In that three hours there are six different fights and each fight is divided into three sections that are called tercios.
The first part is with all of the toreros in the arena with pink capes making him charge and get angry. And then they bring out picadores on horses to pic at the bull on the back of its neck to tire the bull and cause it to lower its head.
Below is an image of the bull in the arena when the picador on his horse in in the arena along with the toreros.
The second part begins after the horses and the picadores have left the arena. This is when the toreros have these colored stick-like things that they stick into the shoulder blades of the bull. This causes the bull to get even more tired.
The red and white poles hanging from the bull are the things that they stick into the bull.
The third and final part of the fight is where the matador kills the bull by putting a sword between the bulls shoulder blades and into the heart. After this, a torero cuts off an ear and horses come in to take the bull out of the arena.
The picture below was taken right before the matador killed the bull. This was the best fight of the night; the bull died instantly.
I have never experienced anything so cultural in my life. The entire time I kept having to remind myself that this was actually happening in front of me, it wasn't a movie. When the Plaza was first built, no one had tv or computers or movies, this was their form of entertainment. I realized that this was, and still is, a way for men to prove themselves as strong and powerful. The most amazing part of the entire thing for me was the posture and the stance of the matadores and toreros. They were standing face to face with a huge bull and the men showed absolutely no weakness or fear of the bull. It was amazing. The way they use the capes to make the bulls charge, and the outfits they wear are beautiful. It is like watching a dance. They have incredible control of the bull. I think the history behind the corridas is really important to understand because it is so historical and such a key part of Sevilla.
I am so thankful that I got to see a corrida, especially with Elyse. We talked through the whole thing as it was happening which was really helpful for us to be able to process everything that was happening throughout the event. It was an experience I will never ever forget.
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