'What is bullfighting''

 

                               Carlota Roa ©     

What is bullfighting? Well, it is the discipline of containing, and in effect dominating, the rage of a bull.

A man on horseback or on foot antagonizes the animal with spears in order to infuriate it, and then demonstrates his skill and dexterity by evading the bull’s mortal lunges. 

This ritual goes on until culminating in the death of the bull.


 

                                 

                                 In my youth, this dramatic scene was exalted in the emotions implicated by attending a bullfighting run at the “Plaza de Toros Mexico”, or a smaller bull-run in the outskirts of the city. My father Carlos was an aficionado of bulls, boxing, operas, cognac and Cuban cigars. It was with this paternal influence that I was immersed in the culture and tradition of bullfighting and became enamored with its flamboyant costumes and brassy fanfares. The ceremony’s rituals combined with the fluidly brutal movements of the toreador created a living story of mortal journey between man and beast witnessed by its lovers of blood and vicious ambiance. 


When I emigrated to California there passed long time before I would return to Mexico and witness another bullfight. After many years, I finally did return, this time with a son, a young boy who had never even seen a fighting bull. We visited my family, and together journeyed to the city of Huamantla, in central Mexico. Humantla was the site of my son’s first experience with bullfighting, a tradition for which the city is famous throughout the country.  I explained to him that it was not only the fight itself, but the festivities, the decorations, the music, the ceremony, that all coalesced into a spectacle reminiscent of Pamplona, of Spain, that the was really all an inheritance of the Spanish kingdom, here just with different names and dialect. 


   Of course, even today, and certainly for eternity, there are voraciously conflicting opinions on the morality of bullfighting as a sport and tradition. However one feels, bullfighting nevertheless is a treasure of my culture, a remainder of bygone eras, and consequently, an inescapable part of the Hispanic reality. 


        

                                  

    


www.carlotaroa.com
www.spanishtodaytutoring.com

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