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The Struggle to Eliminate Bullfights

CONTEMPTIBLE. COWARDLY. BARBARIC. REPUGNANT. REVERED BY MILLIONS.

Bullfights have been an integral part of the cultural landscape of Spain for centuries, but only recently has a movement of Spaniards risen to challenge what is, in essence, an act of premeditated barbarism unworthy of a civilized nation. Bullfighting's romanticized image has benefited from the ignorant adulation of many celebrities, from Hemingway to Cantinflas, and the stubborn support of vested interests, the guardians of "tradition" (starting with the King). and other conservative quarters.  

Hollywood didn't help matters either by presenting bullfights as some sort of harmless inevitable cultural rite of passage for anyone visiting a Hispanic culture. Today, bullfighting is certainly one of the best known, although at the same time most polemical Spanish popular customs. The origins of the corrida—the fighting of bulls— go back thousands of years, appearing in diverse civilizations from the Eastern Mediterranean (Crete) to Iberia. The Bible reports on sacrifices of bulls to propitiate divine justice, and the same or similar custom is reported in the religious ceremonies of Iberian tribes living in Spain. In prehistorical times bulls played an important part. The origins of the Plaza, bullring, probably are not the Roman amphitheaters but the Celt-Iberian temples where those ceremonies were held. In the province of Soria, close to Numancia, one of them is still preserved and it is believed that bulls were sacrificed in that precinct to the Gods. While the religious cult of the bull go back to Iberians, it was Greek and Roman influence that converted it into a spectacle.

During the middle-ages it was a diversion for the aristocracy to "torear" on horseback. That was called suerte de cañas. In the 18th century this tradition was more or less abandoned and the poorer population invented the bullfight on foot. Francisco Romero was a key-figure in laying the rules for that new "sport." For its fans La Corrida is of course rather an art than a sport, and one that this segment of the population sees as defining Spain as a unique cultural entity. For these reasons, the struggle against bullfighting will take a lot of courage and dedication to succeed. Fortunately for these long-victimized animals, Spanish activists have these qualities in abundance.