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Editor’s note
Richard Darquea was born in Riobamba, Ecuador, in 1969
and raised in Queens, New York, and currently resides in West Palm Beach,
Florida. He graduated from Hofstra University in 1993 with a BS in Banking and
Finance. Has worked for over 16 years in the Financial Services Industry.
At the present he is enrolled in the Paralegal Studies program at South University.
One of the requirements of one of his courses was to
write about a controversial topic for the end of term thesis. The professor
presented the students with over 100 topics from which to choose from, but
sinse none of these topics were appealing to him, he proposed to his professor
that he would like to write about the topic of bullfighting, that lately has
been so controversial. The professor accepted Richard ‘s suggestion.
After doing some research on the subject, Richard was
advised by his uncle, a friend of mine since I was bullfighting in Ecuador in
the 50’s, to contact me to exchange views about toreo. We had a long
conversation by phone in which I expressed my opinions, several of which he had
quoted in his essay.
The reason that Richard gave me of why he chose toreo
as the theme for his essay It is interesting:
given my Ecuadorian heritage, and my own personal experience with bullfighting having been a part of my upbringing, I felt that I could introduce to my professor a topic that in her over 30 years as an educator, had never been written about.
Bullfighting, is it an art or a sport? Is this a culturally
driven tradition that deserves its place in the world today? Are the days of
bullfighting numbered as opposition continues to grow? These are some of the
questions asked for almost all throughout its existence. The topic has
attracted interest from both sides, passionate to defend whether there should
even be a place for it in society. Having come from an ancestry where
bullfighting has commonly been associated with festivals, culture, and
tradition; to consider the possibility that it may be banned is a difficult
concept to grasp.
Boxing, mixed martial arts, hunting, fishing, cockfighting,
just to name a few, are all sports equally and rightfully deserving of
attention when brutality, indecency, and social acceptability is being
considered; such is the case with bullfighting. Bullfighting, whose exact date
of origin is questionable, certainly can be traced to have religious
significance dating back to the 1500’s as a way to celebrate holy days and
commemorate the canonization of saints. Even today, Easter Sunday is considered
the opening day of bull season is some places (Conrad, 2011, para.16). Having existed
for so long, should this not be enough to justify its existence?
In a recent interview with world renowned, famed Spanish
bullfighter and accomplished writer Mario Carrion, he openly discusses
his
passion and experiences in bullfighting throughout his lifetime (Carrion,
personal communication, May 24, 2011). He offers a unique perspective of the
cultural significance and the important role bullfighting plays in the
different countries in which it takes place. The emphasis on bullfighting is
that it neither a sport, nor is it just for entertainment, but an art that has
originated and has been “embedded” as Carrion says, into the tradition and culture of several parts of Europe
including his native Spain, as well as
France, Portugal, Mexico and much of South America. So “embedded” is
bullfighting in Spanish culture that to disallow it Carrion feels would be as
if to prohibit fishing off the coast Maryland (where he currently lives),
something difficult to comprehend. Unlike the much accepted “hunting” here in
the United States where animals are killed for the sport, Carrion says
“Bullfighting is the most opposite to a sport you can think of ” (Carrion,
personal communication, May 24, 2011).
Carrion believes it is very much an art. To further illustrate this he
compares bullfighting with ballet and says:
If 
you go to the theatre, there are men or women that
could jump four to five feet into the air. One does not judge on how high they
jumped. The audience looks at the beauty of their (dancing) movement and how
they slide and follow the music with their dance. How do they fail? They fail
if their movement is rough, if they are dancing the wrong way. Bullfighting is
as Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway) has described as a “ballet dance with death,”
in which the missing of a step for the performer can cause his death (Carrion,
personal communication, May 24, 2011).
Carrion’s opinion regarding the controversy surrounding
bullfighting today gives a unique point of view diverting the attention
from the blood, gore, brutality,
insensitivity that certain Animal Rights groups such as the popular People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (“PETA”) has publicized to the world
(Bullfighting: A Tradition of Tragedy, n.d.).
Advocacy
groups in favor for animal rights, believing that animals should not be used or
consumed by humans for food, clothing, or medical experimentation in the United
States and Europe, have become a growing phenomenon (Miller, 2009, p. 16).
Unfortunately, due to the broad application of the groups’ movement,
controversy arises as to the range of the scope of their interest. As
bullfighting may bring a justifiable platform ripe for protest, these groups
could lack the widespread support 
because of what could be interpreted perhaps
as extremist goals. Essentially, their goals are to abolish the farming of
animals for meat, dairy, eggs and other food products as well as the production
of leather and fur for the clothing industry. They object to the use of animals
in testing of drugs, cosmetics, medical procedures. They wish to ban all types
of hunting, using animals in the circus, rodeos, and in zoos. Some members see
simply having pets as a form of exploitation. They go far as believing that
animals should not be considered as property of humans, but should have just as
much right to live out their lives freely as humans do (Miller, 2009, p. 17).
The truth is bullfighting presents itself to be an “easy target” (Carrion,
personal communication, May 24, 2011), especially when outside cultures that do
not share similar traditions are there to judge. Are we to believe that outside
foreign cultures should judge what is to be considered acceptable and what is
not?
PETA in its article “Bullfighting: A Tradition of Tragedy”
(n.d.) states that over 250,000 bulls die yearly in bullfights. In this
article, the group shares their belief that “bullfight” is barely an accurate
term to characterize what some groups
call a “bloodsport,” by which a “sword wielding matador (Spanish for
killer) competes against a confused, maimed, psychologically tormented and
physically debilitated animal.” PETA has described what they call “the
ritualistic slaughter” as follows:
First, a bull is
forced into the arena and taunted by a matador with a cape. The bull is then
approached by picadors (men on horses), who drive lances into the bull’s back
and neck muscles, impairing the bull’s ability to lift his head. They twist and
gouge the lances to ensure a significant amount of blood loss. Then come the
banderilleros on foot, who proceed to distract and dart around the bull while
stabbing the animal with brightly colored darts called banderillas. After blood
loss has weakened the bull, the banderilleros run the bull in more circles
until he becomes dizzy and stops chasing. In the final act, the matador
appears. After using his cape and sword (the faena) to provoke a few exhausted
charges from the dying animal, the matador tries to deliver the death blow, or
estocada, with his sword. If he misses, succeeding only in further mutilation,
an executioner is called in to stab the exhausted animal to death. If the crowd
is happy with the matador, the bull’s ears and tail or a hoof may be cut off
and presented as a gift (Bullfighting: A Tradition of Tragedy, n.d.).
It is this kind of
interpretation, focusing on the harm instilled on the bull that could
effortlessly sway the most open-minded critic. These descriptions, with
disregard to the basis, the history, the elegance, the respect, the tradition,
the rules involved, unfairly convict bullfighting as being a vile blood thirsty
sport, when in fact in the eyes the aficionado it is anything but that.
Effective in 2012, the culturally rich region of
bullfighting tradition, Catalonia, Spain, home to “one of the leading bullrings
in the world, La Monumental” in Barcelona will ban bullfighting (Minder, 2010,
para.16). For animal welfare groups this is being celebrated as a major victory
against what they consider bullfighting being a “barbaric and outdated
practice” (Minder, 2010, para. 3). This movement has continued to gain momentum
in a South American country with one of the oldest bullfighting traditions
which dates back to 1536, Ecuador (Wyss, 2010, para 21). Diego Barrera, spokesperson for the
Ecuadorian Foundation to Protect Animals, says, “Just because it’s a tradition
doesn’t make it right, just because it’s our culture doesn’t make it right, and
just because it’s an art doesn’t make it right. When we see blood running, we
should recognize that there’s suffering behind it” (Wyss, 2011, para. 26). With proposed changes looming, room also
exists for compromise where supporters for and against can co-exist. Such is
the case in Portugal, where rather than being entirely banned, a modified form
of bullfighting exists. This modification comes in the form of the bull not
being killed in the ring. Is this the compromise bullfighting worldwide may
have to agree to?
Ironically, on the heels of some short term success for animal
rights activists, bullfighting continues to flourish in the rest of Spain. For
example in Madrid, during the months of May and June, the city hosts twenty days of bullfights for Las
Fiestas de 
San Isidro (The Festival of Saint Isidro). The bullfights are held in
La Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas
del Espíritu Santo, a bullfighting ring built in 1929. Amid the recent
publicity Carrion says, “Bullfighting is more popular than ever and the
stadium sells out daily to the 24,000 spectator
capacity” (Carrion, personal communication, May 24, 2011). Local governments are placed in an
especially difficult predicament. Not only is the revenue collected from
bullfights impactful to their municipalities’ wellbeing, but revenue from taxes
on the sales of tickets and the amount of jobs created as a result of the
bullfights, are two major obstacles to entirely eradicating this long standing
tradition. As long as the public continues to show its support and demand
remains, bullfighting will continue to strive for many years to come. However,
compromise will likely be the long term solution. Long Live La Fiesta Brava!!
Long Live The Brave Festival!!
REFERENCIAS
Bullfighting. (2011). In Encyclopedia Britannica.
Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/84444/bullfighting
Bullfighting: A Tradition of Tragedy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2011,
from PETA:
http://www.peta.org/issues/Animals-in-Entertainment/bullfighting-a-tradition-of- tragedy.aspx
Catalonia region's legislature OKs bullfighting ban.
(2010, Jul 29). Tulsa World, pp. A.6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/734353094?accountid=87314
Carrion, M. (2011, May 24). Interview of Mario Carrion. (R.
Darquea, Interviewer)
Carrion, M. (1997,
November). Spanish Fiesta Brava, A History of Bullfighting. Retrieved
May 2, 2011,fromMexico
Premiere: http://www.mexicopremiere.com/?p=43
Conrad, B. (2011, June 7). Britannica Online Encyclopedia.
Retrieved June 2011, 2011, from Britannica.com:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/84444/bullfighting
Giles, T. A. (2010, Aug 31). Catalonia: Town ablaze
over fire bulls' fate: Animal's death is not
the goal, but tradition
exposes politics of bullfighting ban. The Guardian, pp. 23.Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/748814535?accountid=87314
Harrison, D. (2003, Oct 26). It's not 'art or
culture' - so Barcelona plans to ban bullfighting city council wants to create
a new identity for itself and Catalonia by abolishing 'anachronistic' ancient
sport. The Sunday Telegraph, pp. 30-30. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/309440740?accountid=87314
Marquand, R. (2010, Jul 28). Catalonia votes for less
death in the afternoon with bullfighting ban. The Christian Science Monitor,
pp. n/a-11. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/733037102?accountid=87314
Miller, D. A. (2009). The Rights of Animals.
Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press.
Minder, R. (2010, July 29). Catalonia Votes to Ban
Bullfighting. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from International Herld Tribune
(Paris, France): SIRS Researcher.
Wyss, J. "Ecuador's Proposal to Ban Bullfighting
Stirs Passions." Miami Herald. 05 Apr 2011: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 23 May 2011.
APPENDIX: Interview. Questions to Mario
Carrion
· At what point in your life did you
decide that you wanted to be a matador?
· What were some of the highlights of
your career?
· If there was something you could
have done differently in your career, what would it have been?
· Do you believe bullfighting today
receives the same respect and recognition it had when you were a bullfighter?
If not, why do you believe that is so?
· In your opinion, what do you feel
bullfighting is a sport or an art?
· How do you feel about the latest
movements worldwide to attempt to ban bullfighting?
· Do you believe that traditional
bullfighting can survive this recent movement attempting to ban it?
· What is your opinion about
bullfighting being perceived by some as considered ‘animal cruelty’?
.
Do you believe that bullfighting is
a part of culture that should be preserved or if should be laid to rest?
