We saw our first bullfight at The Palza Toros Las Ventas Bullring, one of the largest in the world, which was built in 1931. It’s 196’ in diameter and holds 23,798 fans; it is one of the most important arenas in the world. The complex was constructed using hand-painted tiles in the Neo-mudejar style of 12th century Arabic Moors.
Bullfighting isn’t for everyone. We weren’t sure we’d make it through the first bull! As I noted before, bullfighting has close ties to flamenco, ancient history and religious iconography and is a big part of Spanish culture. Some of the best matadors are/were of gypsy decent so I had to go!
The matador doesn’t always win! Some bulls just aren’t into the fight and others are too resilient. When the bull wins, a herd of brown and white cows, wearing loud bells entered the ring. I thought they were clowns like in a rodeo but they had a serious job to do. Their job is to incorporate the bull into their herd and lead him out of the ring. The bull wins – once a bull has been in the ring, he can never fight again because he is smart and knows what will happen. He gets to spend his life in the pasture, smelling the flowers just like Ferdinand!
