On Friday we saw "The Plaza De Toros de Las Ventas" the bullfighting ring of Madrid. Most large cities in Spain have their own bull rings. This ring in Madrid is known to be the most beautiful.
Bullfighting is very controversial nowadays. Some love it for the sport and due to the long lasting tradition, since the Roman times. Others hate it due to the cruelty to the bulls. Bullfighting in Spain has enjoyed renewed popularity since the late 1980s, however, Bullfighting in Northern Spain, or Catalonia, has been banned since 2012. Every time there is a bullfight, the bull is killed, unless the president of bullfighting pardons the bull. This happens very infrequently, and only if the bull is amazing. There is an operating room at each bull ring in case the matador is injured. There is also a chapel for prayer before the bullfight and in case of death of a matador.
Each bull fight is about 30 minutes. In one day of bullfighting, a ticket holder gets to see 3 Matadors and 6 bulls, back to back shows for about 2 hours. Tickets to a show cost anywhere between 12 and 300 euros, which is about the same in US dollars. In the black market, people could pay thousands for one seat. The seats are more expensive if they are in the shade, as the bullfighting season is from March to October.
I found the outside of the ring to be beautiful.
I loved the brick, the shape of the Windows, and the tiles.
Standing outside the ring on a rainy morning, I could almost hear the cheers of the crowds who will be back here in March!
Our tour guide told me that she thinks about half of the people of Spain enjoy bullfighting and about half are apposed.
Hoping you are having a lot of fun!!!!
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I went to a bullfight in that arena on my first trip to Spain. It was an experience for sure. But we found it hard to call it a sport when the odds were so deliberately stacked against the bulls. They came out drugged and by the time the matador came out the bull had about 6 other short spears in it. We saw one bull get sent back because it was too drugged and fell down before the "fight" really began. We also saw another matador almost get gored. We cheered rather loudly at that point.
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