Bullfighting; art or murder?

What is bullfighting?• Bullfighting is an ancient tradition in Spain, Portugal, Southern France,

Mexico and many other Latin American countries in which one or more bulls are fought in a bullring. • it is not considered a sport but a cultural event and art form.

History• The tradition traces back to ancient bull worship and sacrifice.• We do not know when it began but there is a Spanish legend that

Hercules fought with a bull of Geryon in the plain of Hispania. • The popularity of it grew between the sixteenth and seventeenth

century during the Renaissance.

The fight (three parts)• Stage 1 – Tercio de Vargas: ("part of lances“) the matador asses the

bull’s strength and the picador (horseman) weakens it with a lance• Stage 2 – Tercio de Banderillas: ("part of banderillas") the matador

distracts the bull while another person sticks Banderillas (colorful darts) into the bull's back• Stage 3 – Tercio de Muerte: ("part of death") the matador finishes the

bull alone in the ring by thrusting a sword into the bull's neck

What’s the problem with Bullfighting?• Bullfighting may be a cultural tradition and a tourist attraction but at

the end of the ceremony the bulls are put to death. This is why bullfighting is controversial.• Every year, 250,000 bulls die making bullfight “a tradition of tragedy.” • Animal rights activists criticize the sport calling it barbaric. Bulls suffer

slow torturous deaths. Animals activist groups are sent to Spain and other countries to try and stop bullfighting.

Progress in bull rights• BARCELONA ----> “ANTI-BULLFIGHTING CITY”• 38 Catalan municipalities followed• January 2012: Catalonia officially ban bullfighting• RTVE ----> no longer broadcasts bullfights• 2006: 72% of Spaniards show no interest in contrast to 31% in the

1990s

Different opinions:

"Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the

fighter's honour.“ – Ernest Hemingway

What‘s your opinion?• Blood sport? • Cultural art in traditions?

hind saed