Bull Fighting in Spain

What is bullfighting?

Bull fighting in Spain is a traditional spectacle that became popular in the 18th century. It's probably one of the most ancient mass entertainments of the world. Over the centuries, modern bullfighting has evolved very little, adopting its current rules from 250-year-old customs.

Bullfights are considered one of the symbols of the Hispanic culture and are also organized in other countries (e.g. Portugal, France and part of Latin America), where some customs may vary. Nevertheless, it is in Spain where most of the bullfights take place and where foreigners have their first approach to a Spanish-style bullfighting.

Bullfighting is a universe of its own. It's called tauromaquia. As a consequence, bullfighting is made of hundreds of rules, thousands of traditions and a little bit of superstition... :-)

Lots of questions arise...

The very first one that foreigners ask me is "what is the Spanish word for bullfighting?". Whenever we refer to a bullfighting, we call it corrida de toros. It can be literally translated as "running of bulls".

The alguacilillos after the paseillo, photo by Multimaniaco

What is a bullfight?

Bull fighting in Spain is an event in which 3 toreros have to fight 2 bulls each and, ultimately, kill them. A bullfight is always held in a round-shape arena or venue called plaza de toros.

The toreros perform in order of seniority, which is set according to the date of each torero's alternativa.

For obvious reasons, the senior one will participate in the first and fourth fights. Then, the second oldest matador will confront the second and fifth bulls. Finally, the least experienced will fight in third and sixth place.

If a matador is gored or injured in any way that prevents him to continue, the senior matador must replace him and complete the fight.

The matadores and the banderilleros performing the paseillo, photo by Multimaniaco

How is a bullfight organized?

Every bullfight follows the same order and there are very strict rules that all participants must respect.

A corrida starts with a parade of all the participants called paseillo. It constitutes the presentation of the toreros and their team to the public. The order is the following:

• The 2 alguacilillos, dressed in a 17th century costume lead the parade riding their horses.
• Behind them are the 3 toreros (or rejoneadores if it's a bullfight on horseback), placed according to their seniority. If you face them, the senior one will be on your right, the least experienced in the middle and the intermediate on your left.
• Then the next row is for the 3 banderilleros of the first matador and so on for the other two rows. Here the seniority is also respected.
• Behind them, forming pairs, are the picadores riding their horses.
• Finally, at the end of the parade are the mozos de caballos and the areneros, followed by the mules and the mulilleros.

All of them salute the president that will host the fight. The president plays a very important role because he's in charge of the bullfight timings. He's also the ultimate responsible when it comes to award trophies to the torero.

Once the paseillo is over, a member of the music band blows a bugle to announce the first fight. This person also blows it to signal the end of each stage, and the end of the fight. The president then waves a white handkerchief to signal the entrance of the first bull into the ring.

Each bullfight is divided into three tercios (stages) and lasts for around 20 minutes: tercio de varas, tercio de banderillas and tercio de muerte.

The picadores performing the paseillo, photo by Multimaniaco

Would you like to know how to buy bullfight tickets?

Will you be in Seville during the Feria de Abril? If so, have a look at the official bullfighting schedule.

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