Bullfighting :: essays research papers

BullfightingThe spectacle of bullfighting pits a man against a charging bull. Thebullfighter, called a matador, faces the bull in a large dirt-filled arena thatis usually surrounded by spectators. Aided by a group of apprentices, calledthe cuadrilla, the matador goads the bull into charging at him. A bullfightusually features three matadors, each of whom fights two bulls. The bulls are ofa distinctly savage breed especially trained to attack humans. A bullfight isrelentless. If a matador is injured, another replaces him, and the bull iskilled at the end of each match. To followers of bullfighting the contestbetween man and beast demonstrates human skill and endurance as does no othersport. However, many people believe bullfighting is barbaric and inhumane.The contest begins with a colorful grand entrance by the participants.The positive fight starts when the picadors, who are horse-mounted members of thecuadrilla. They fend off the bulls charges with sharp steel-tipped pikes,call ed pics. They weaken and anger the bull by piercing its neck and shoulders.Then come the banderilleros, named after their banderillas, or decorated barbedsticks. Clutching a stick in each hand, they rush the bull on foot and plantthe barbs in the animals neck, weakening and angering the beast take down more.Finally the matador comes in for the kill. Brightly dressed, he uses asword draped with a cloth, called muleta. After a number of intricate passeswith the muleta, during which the matador must work extremely close to the bull,the matador sights the bull along his sword, runs forward, and plunges it in,aiming for the half-dollar-size spot between the shoulders. If the sword enterscorrectly between the shoulder blades, it severs the aorta, or great artery, andthe animal dies almost instantly.A crowd-pleasing matador may be awarded cardinal or both of the bulls earsor its ears and tail. An exceptionally fierce bull may be honored by having itsbody paraded around the arena. The o ne thing that sets the Spanish apart frommost Europeans living beyond the Pyrenees mountains is their national spectacleof bullfighting. Every city and most towns of any size boast a bullring, wherethe crowds barrack their favorite but jeer the inept matador, or bullfighter, ashe faces his large-horned adversary.