Bulls and Brews with the Bro's.

Ever since reading The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, I have wanted to experience a bull fight before I die. In true Hemingway style, he describes the bulls, the matadors and their interaction in the bull ring with such passion and poetry that you would think the fairly barbaric act was something more like a soft porn flick. Well, I recently got to check that off my "To Do List" after enlisting some of my classmates to share the experience with me here in Medellin.

Most bullfights have 6 bulls and 3-6 matadors. The bull charges out into the ring with a fury. The matador's first assistant handles the bull while the matador watches. The matador gauges the bull's strength, speed, and temperament.

Then the picadores arrive on horseback with long pikes. The bull charges and rams the picadore's horse. They stab the bull in between the shoulder blades. This weakens and softens the bull's neck muscles causing it to drop its head lower. The crowd determines whether the bull is brave or a coward by the bull’s reaction to the pike. The brave bull will disregard the pain and charge even harder, while the cowardly bull is reluctant to charge again and is roundly booed by the crowd.

After the picadore has three goes at the bull, he leaves and  the banderillos appear. They charge the bull with 2 banderillas and stab these in between the bulls shoulder blades to further weaken its neck muscle. There are usually three or four banderillos each with two banderillas.

Once the bull is worn down, and he holds his head lower, the matador enters the ring.













First the matador removes his black winged hat and dedicates the death of the bull to the bullring president or to the crowd. The muleta (cape) can be held in either the left hand or draped over the espada, the killing sword, which is always held in the right hand.

The pass is called the natural in which the muleta is first held in front of the matador to site the bull and is then swung across and away from the matador’s body, taking the bull with it. The matador will continue to perform a number of different passes varying in skill and showmanship until he has complete control over the charging bull.

The matador keeps the bull fixated on the muleta held low in his left hand and aims the espada between the shoulder blades. If the sword goes all the way in, the bull will drop immediately to his knees, dying. The length of the blade is about 3 feet.

If the bull fails to die the matador or his assistant may take the descabello and stab it into the bull’s neck severing the spinal cord.

The first slain bull is always the hardest to watch. It is either getting desensitized to the brutality or learning to appreciate the skill and technique of the matador that has you cheering each time he exhibits his grace. 

However, I did find myself cheering for the bull when he rammed this matador and flipped him over his body. The matador was young and lacking experience. He got rammed twice and it took him 4 passes with his espeda before he planted it between the bull's shoulder blades and into his heart.

 

 

"In bull-fighting they speak of the terrain of the bull and the terrain of the bull-fighter. As long as a bull-fighter stays in his own terrain he is comparatively safe. Each time he enters into the terrain of the bull he is in great danger. Belmonte, in his best days, worked always in the terrain of the bull. This way he gave the sensation of coming tragedy."

The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway