When
the fateful moment comes, the corral
is opened.
Light gushes in and the bull
charges out, sensing a chance to escape.
You wonder if it feels disappointed as it
barrels
out into the ring to be confronted by the
peons,
darting about and flashing their
rose-and-yellow coloured capes
at the heaving beast. The matador then appears
and executes his faens
(moves)
with the bull.
To go into the complexities of what constitutes
a fine faena would require a book.
Suffice to say,
the more closely and calmly the toreo
works with the bull,
pivoting
and dancing
before the bull’s
horns, the greater will be the crowds
approbation. After a little of this, the
matador
strides off and leaves the stage first to
the picadores,
then the banderilleros,
before retuning for another session. At
various moments during the fight,
the brass band will hit some stirring notes,
adding to the air of grand spectacle.
The moves must be carried out in certain
parts of ring, which is divided into three
parts: the medios
(centre);
trecios
(an intermediate, chalked-off
ring); and tablas
(the outer ring).
When the bull
seems tired out and unlikely to give a lot
more, matador chooses his moment for the
kill. Placing
himself head-on, he aims to sink the sword
cleanly into the animal’s
neck (estocada)
for an instant kill. It’s easier
said than done.
A
good performance
followed by a clean kill will have the crowd
on its feet waving handkerchiefs
in the air in clear appeal to the president
to award the matador an oreja
(ear)
of the animal.
The president
usually waits to assess the crowd’s
enthusiasm
before flopping a white handkerchief
onto his balcony.
If the fight was exceptional, the matador
might cortar dos
orejas
– cut two ears off. On rare occasions
the matador
may be awarded the tail as well. What he
does with them when he gets home is anyone’s
guess.
The sad carcass is meanwhile dragged out
by a team of dray-horses
and the sand raked about in preparation
for the next bull.
The meat ends up in the butchers.
When and
Where
Corridas
are mainly a spring
and summer
activity,
but it is occasionally possible to see at
other times. The season begins more or less
officially in the first week of February
with the fiestas
of Valdemorillo
and Ajalvir,
near Madrid,
to mark the feast day of San
Blas.
Virtually all encierros
and corridas
are organised as part of the town’s
fiesta or other.
In the
Comunidad de Madrid,
for instance, therre are any number of local
fiestas
and the encierros
can be a wild and unpredictable affair.
In many towns the
plaza mayor
serves a makeshift bullring. Often, the
small-town fights are amateurish affairs
known as capeas.
The most
prestigious feria
in the world is that held in Madrid over
four weeks from mid-May as part of the
Fiesta de San isidro.
Bullfighting
magazines such as the weekly 6
Toros 6 carry full details of who’s
fighting, where and when. When fights are
coming up locally, gaudy
posters advertise the fact and give
ticket information. In addition to the top
corridas,
which attract the `name’ matadors
and big crowds, there are plenty of lesser
ones in the cities, towns and villages.
These are often novilleras,
in which immature
bulls (novillos)
are fought by junior
matadors (novilleros).
In small places the
plaza mayor may serve as a makeshift
bullring.
|
