March 1, 2022
“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”
― Ernest Hemingway
Pedro Romero Martinez was born in 1754. He was a legend. He lived some 85 years and practiced Le Corrida, the bullfight, until he was 80 years old. Pedro invented the modern art of bullfighting with its showy displays and feats of raw courage. He is celebrated here in Ronda as a legend and his daring put Ronda on the map. Hemingway would write about him in his classic “The Sun Also Rises”
During the course of his career he would personally kill over 6,000 bulls.
There is no denying the controversy of this sport. Although the idea is ‘man against a brute’, the odds are heavily stacked against the bull. The animal is stabbed with lances, bled, and occasionally drugged before being released into the ring to face the matador. It is a blood sport, gladiatorial to its very core. The death of the bulls is a brutal act in front of a cheering crowd. If the bull manages to kill the matador, if the judge allows, he is granted freedom and returned to live out the remainder of his days on a farm. However, this is very rare. The game is fixed.
Yet, despite the medieval nature of this sport, there is no denying the storied history of the bullfighting culture. Ronda is best known for being the home of Pedro Romero and having the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain. It was here that Romero turned the sport into an art. Rules were set and standards established. From Ronda these guidelines would spread to Seville, Madrid and beyond. It was and, at least in Spain, still wildly popular.
Below is a flyover of the cliffs of Ronda and the bullfighting ring
Bullfighting today is a mix of the showmanship of a WWF wrestling show and a beauty pageant. Matadors are often matinee idols in looks and, if successful, can hold the status of rock stars. Hemingway and Orsen Welles traveled here to have their pictures taken with them.
Below is the walk the matador takes entering the arena
Make no mistake, it takes agility, speed, and considerable verve to be a matador. To be successful, you must also possess considerable panache and personality while facing down an enraged animal that weighs over 2 tons. Even though the odds are in your favor, the animal can and very much wants to kill you.
A common myth is red enrages the bull. The animal is color blind and cannot perceive red. The color red is used for two reasons. The first is that it is vibrant and goes well with the matador’s colorful costumes. The second reason is it helps distract from all the blood.
The ring here in Ronda was built in 1785. It holds 5,000 fans. It is only used for bullfighting for one weekend in September for a festival. The event is so popular that it is impossible to get tickets. The rest of the time it serves as a museum.
Despite the age of the building, it is beautifully maintained. As you enter the arena, the light tan hard packed dirt floor contrasts with the beautiful white columns of the arena. The royal box sits over the door where the bull is released. The band box is on the opposite side and these days the honor is usually given to a local high school band.
At a typical fight there are three matadors, and 6 bulls plus 2 back ups. Below are shots of the chambers where the bulls are kept before the matches and the pull system that releases them into the arena. A bovine death row if you will.
Horses are a part of the entire fight. Men on armored horseback with lances are called Picaderos. They will charge the bull to pierce its shoulders to weaken the animal. They horses are not always used in combat. His ring also houses a historic trading school for Spanish thoroughbreds, the Real Maestranza, that trains riders in Olympic dressage.
In the museum there are exhibits of outfits worn by famous matadors and paintings of past glory. It points out after the bulls are killed they are processed and the meat is used.
To a modern Western sensibility, there is plenty here to find repellant. However, this is not my culture. There are centuries of history in this ring and that fact alone deserves respect.
Comments