Jul
29
The beginning of the end to bullfighting?
Bullfighting, a Spanish tradition which has existed for centuries, may be on its way out for good. The parliament of Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting starting January, 2012.
The colorfully-dressed matador in the ring with the bull is an iconic image strongly associated with Spain. In fact, it’s probably one of the first things foreigners who have never even visited the country will mention if you ask them about Spain. “Hey, isn’t that the country where they have bullfights and do siestas?”
Even though they say they don’t like the idea of animal torture, a lot of tourists want to see a bullfight anyway. They buy tickets to see the bloody spectacle because “it’s a tradition.” It’s as if they believe that their visit to Spain will be incomplete unless they get to see a bullfight.
But times have changed and there are many Spaniards who find bullfighting a cruel, barbaric activity that should be banned forever. In fact, it was the efforts of Spanish animal rights activists that brought about the vote in the parliament.
At this point it’s uncertain whether or not other autonomous communities in Spain will follow suit. There’s still a sizable industry which exists around bullfighting and Spain’s conservative political party, el Partido Popular, is now rushing to come up with a new law that will give bullfighting special cultural status which will prevent it from being banned in Madrid.
What do you think? Is bullfighting a tradition which should be abolished? Or do you think there is a place for this kind of Old World tradition in a 21st-century modern, industrialized society?
Two things instantly remind me of Spain:
1.Flamenco music which I LOVE
2.Bullfighting which I HATE
I understand all the cultural and symbolic importance of bullfighting for spain however I believe nothing can justify the torturing of animals to death. The principles of humanity I think are more valuable than any tradition or industry.
The original article having been published in the English language, I shall follow suit. Not that this is the perfect idiom in which to most faithfully convey the inner flame of “la tauromaquía”, smacking as it seems of snobbish Hemingwayism and yes, in a “mundialist” way, the agony of an old Spain, as if it had been initiated with the act of removing the life-sustaining catheters from “Caudillo” Francisco Franco’s arm on that 20th of november, way back in 1975 already.
And it seems more than a mere coïncidence that it would be Catalunya (making an exception for Canarias, back in 1991) that, in an act calculated to irritate any Castilian to immesurable length, the ass kicking (or engaging in even more degrading behavior!) the bull, that sent this clamorous humaniarian ban (favoring bulls…) into the world at large.
Personally, I grant Catalunya the fullest right to make such decisions for themselves. I’m willing to accept that Nation, not as my own, but as part of our Europe in formation. And, no, I’ve never been to see any bullfight, whether in Juarez, Lima or anywhere in Castilla or Andalucía or other such deep-down tauromaquía havens. Of course there is cruelty there, down to the young boys at the local fiesta or carnaval…
I have revelled in biographies of “El Cordobés” and Juan Belmonte. Tears at nostalgy for a country and a culture I”ve never even known. Without the utter poverty of most bullfighters’ existence, few ever to climb that gilden stairway, Spain (or should I say Castilla?) would not be what it WAS, or even what it IS.
The argument is hotly disputed. Once again, as ever and always in Spain, we have completely conflicting visions confronting themselves. And no, bullfighting will not disappear: there are far too many old men around, unwilling to give up a culture uniquely theirs. I, for my part, will probably never attend a bullfight. For lack of understanding that ritual.
It seems that the decision by Cataluna to introduce a ban on bullfighting from January 2012 is heavily tinged by their long-running desire for complete political independance from the rest of Spain. That said, I nonetheless completely support the decision on bullfighting. Nothing can justify its blatant cruelty.
Me gusta la idea es genial. Tenemos que mirar con atención y me hizo volver con el comentario completo.
bullfighting should be banned