Many parts of South America also have bullfights. My banderillo friend is from Venezuela, and returns to S. America during the off season here to fight.

Though it's been while since I read Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon", here are a few things I remember, I hope correctly, from that read.

First, someone mentioned that the bull almost always dies. According to Hemingway, the bull ALWAYS dies because even if it succeeds in wounding the matador, they still kill the bull. Supposedly, the reason for this is that even after just 1 bullfight, the bulls become so adept at the sport that they become extremely dangerous. In other words, bulls are used for one and only one bullfight. They are not re-used, so to speak. Win or lose, they die.

If it were just a contest between the bull and the matador, the latter would have no chance against the bull and that's why the matador has assistants like the picadors on horses and others, in order to even out the odds a bit or perhaps even put the odds on the side of the matador.

Another interesting fact that Hemingway described in his book is how the doctors standing by in the arena really have quite task in mending a matador who has been gored. Think about who difficult it would be to treat someone with several holes in their body.

Anyway, although it is somewhat dated, I strongly recommend Hemingway's "Death in the Afternoon". He even goes into the breeding of the bulls and after reading that part of the book, you begin to realize why IT IS such a dangerous sport.