Bullfight?? Yes - No???

I will be in Madrid Friday, May 30 - Sun Jun 1.

I want to make the most of my 3 days and the bullfight issue is the last to be resolved.

I feel like it would be ridiculous to go to Spain and not see a bullfight. My best friend isn't jazzed about it at all. She said she would go if I wanted to but I don't wan to drag her there against her will. The animal cruelty thing and the possible human endangerment bother her some.

Any insight would be helpful. All of our advice so far has come from friends over here in the US that wwent to Spain and did not go to a fight because they thought it was cruel to the bulls, or from friends ovder here that went over and attended a fight and thought it was the best thing they have ever seen.

You see my dilema here - 2 extreme views - no real information. All input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tara

You're opening a "can of worms" here, Taralee. You're going to get opinions from both sides leaving you more confused than you were before you asked.

I say if you're curious then go. If not, then don't. Just keep it simple. Maybe if you go you'll get sick and maybe you won't. Maybe if you go you'll want to go again or maybe you'll become an animal rights activist. Maybe if you don't go you'll always wonder what it would have been like had you gone. But if you don't go and have no interest you won't feel like you missed anything by not going. Really. It all depends on you.

But whatever you do, please enjoy your time in Spain - and DON'T bring home a HUGE, fuzzy-balled Mexican sombrero like I saw one teenager carrying on the plane from Madrid to Philadelphia.

Saludos, MadridMan

My advice is as follow:
Go during the San Isidro period only,all the people in the bullring are natives and you can see(with luck) a goog work and in that case you will love the bullfights.But NEVER go during summer sundays the events are very bad with empty bullring (only tourists).

It is very difficult to see a good work (San Isidro have 30 bullfights = 180 bulls and only in 3 or 4 times there are triumphant).

ABP

I think Madrid Man gives great advice on this issue. One other option: sit in just about any bar and watch the bullfights on TV. Then decide if it is something you want to see in person.

If you have a decent internet connection, you may be able to watch them live on canal sur's website before you go.

Melinda

Read Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon" and "The Dangerous Summer" before you go--then if you think you won't like it, please don't go. Whatever you do, I entreat you, remember that this is a nation's national ritual of honor and art...and deserves to be respected.

For any muti-culturalists out there: How come it's PC to insist that we should honor other peoples' cultures...until you don't want to honor their culture? -OhMike

Here is my experience with this. Out of pure curiosity, I did go to a bullfight while studying abroad in spain. Did I like it? No not at all (I realize this could have had something to do with the horse that was gored to death and the mess that they made of the entire ordeal...it was at a small town in then north, Haro, and not one of the best im sure). It made me sick and I left after the third bull . However, I am still glad that I went. Why? Before I went I did not have any idea of what it was about, or any point of view on the issue. After see it, I at least feel that I have an opinion and am not left wondering or curious. So I say go and check it out. The worst that will happen is that you wont like it and will leave.
Good Luck!
Kelly

I would def go to a Bullfight... Its a part of the cluture, and you def don't want to get home and wish you had gone.. My girl and I went to one last summer in Marbella, def a good, cultural experience!!! My girl really didn't like it, but I was taking pics and enjoying it... Go for one or 2 fights to see what actaually happens in a bull fight.. When you get home, everyone will ask if you attended a bullfight, and you can reply yes.. Its as old as the Spanish culture..!!

We went to an evening (Sunday?) of bulfighting in Madrid last summer. Very interesting, but very bloody. I'm no vegetarian so I don't mind animals being killed as the beginning part of the eating process, but there's quite a bit of torture going on in the bullring. However, if you think you can stomach it, I'd recommend going. It's historic, cultural and entertaining. I wasn't sure why or when to cheer, so I just followed the lead of the guy next to me. Also -- pay the extra couple of euros and get seats in the shade! You can save a couple by not being in the first few rows. That's a bit too close to the action.

Don't go to a bullfight just to go and say that you went. That's not the point. If you decide to go- I suggest you read up on it a bit and try to get a basic understanding of what it is, what it means. Bullfighting in NOT a sport. To someone who doesn't understand it, as well as foreign to the culture it may seem like animal cruelty- it is not. It takes some study and knowledge to understand why its not but that's a much longer discussion than what one can get into on a message board. There is much to learn to understand what it is about including learning the nature of the bull and their intelligence- which is much greater than you may think.

Like it or don't like it- everyone it entitiled to their opinion. Personally I don't like it, but I know what its about and I respect it and accept it as part of my culture- and yes I do love animals!

Bullfighting is not a sport, its an artform. It is the fight of man against beast and trust me- even with all of the people in the ring- the bull still has the advantage! (I know that's hard to believe so I refer back again- its something you need to learn something about and gain some understanding on it before you blindly subject yourself to it) It also won't be a cultural experience unless you have some prior knowledge about it.

My family used to watch the bullfights every Sunday on the Spanish stations here in Los Angeles. The art and pageantry of the ritual itself is tremendous and should not be missed. Not all bullfights are great, and not all bullfighters are of the same caliber. There are toreros and there are Matadores. Only the best and most skilled are given the title Matador de toros. These men are heroes in Spain much like pro-athletes here in the US. If you get an opportunity to see a fight with a great Matador you will be greatly impressed. Yes, I always felt sorry for the bull and wondered why it was necessary for the bull to suffer. But with a skillful Matador the bull's demise is quick. (Boy, do I have a great joke regarding a bullfight. It a bit colorful but not crude, not sure how it would be received though, oh well )

OsoMajor you are right.
Ernest Hemingway ,Orson Welles, Ava Gardner and a lot of american people loved bullfights, why?:
They had very luck and saw in their first time a
very good work ("una faena de dos orejas") and that it can with all.
I have a tv tape recorder with an historical Madrid bullfight (the 3 "bullfighter cut two
ears every one) if you see you will love ,sure.
An american woman was following to a bullfighter: "Diego Puerta" (1960 ) during 30 bullfights.

The last time I took a group of students to Spain, half of them wanted to see a bullfight. It was a Sunday afternoon in the summer...the only time students are free to travel...and the corrida was mediocre. Some of the students were grossed out; some of the students were enthralled by the pageantry of it. Those who decided not to go were quite content not having seen it. I would never force or coerce anyone into going, though I do think that anyone seriously studying Spanish needs the experience (and, as previously mentioned) a good education as to what a corrida is all about. I don't think that watching a bullfight anywhere but in a bullring gives you a sense of what it is "like" at all. There is a majesty to the paso doble and a beauty to the desfile of the men in their suits of light that cannot possibly be replicated on video. The crowd carries you away with their enthusiasm,too. I faint at the sight of blood, but I'm ok with a bullfight. I don't consider myself an aficionada by any means, but I respect the art of it and enjoy the pageantry. And if you are ever lucky enough to see a bullfighter perform magic with a bull and mesmerize both the animal and you with his graceful and daring cape work, you will never put it in the area of "sport" again.

If you feel any interest in going then i suggest you go.
I went to one in Barcelona in 2000. I did not want to go at all as i too had the opinion about the cruelty issue. However i was convinced by my friends to go mainly so i could at least experience it to back up my opinion. By the end of the bullfight though my opinion had comletely changed. I was mesmerised by it although some of my friends who urged me to go actually changed their opinions to my initial thoughts.
I found with myself that watching the bullfight brought on emotions that i had not really experienced before in life. i sat there with my heart pounding and i was amazed with the bulls. It seemed like this was what was meant to be and that the bull would have it no other way. to go down fighting until the very end, courageously, valiantly charging on and on until he could no more. in no way did i see any cruelty inflicted onto the bull. the charge on the horses is the only incident that seems to really shock people and it is a rather shocking thing to see, but one can only imagine how much worse it was in the old days when the horses were unprotected. this part of the bullfight is to show the power of the bull, so the spectator realises what a raging strong beast is in the ring with men. i saw a bull catch a matador and toss him into the air and then ravage him on the ground. his name was Miguel Abellan and i thought as they carried him from the ring motionless that he may well not live. 3 days later he was performing in mont de marsan in france. another matador, Jose Tomas, was given 5 cut ears from the dead bulls and he was championed by the crowd.
ever since i have been intrigued by bullfighting. Afterwards i read Hemingway's 'Death in the Afternoon' and now with all the research i have done on bullfighting i can't wait to see my next one. For me it was an experience i will remember for the rest of my life.

I agree with Espe3: You have to understand something about the bullfight to appreciate it. You also have to undertand somnething about traditional Spanish attitudes towards honor and courage and nobility. And you have to realize that bullfighting is not a sport, but an art form...that happens to be expressed as the tragedy of the bull.

I will be at the corridas this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'm still hoping someday to see a GREAT bullfight. -OhMike