A Short History of Bullfighting.

Bullfighting in Spain seems to have its origins during the 8 long centuries of the SpanishWar of Reconquest (711-1492 A.D.) when the knights of both the Moors and Christians would organize hunting competitions as a respite from killing each other and they soon realized that of all the prey the Iberian bulloffered the greatest challenge as unlike other animals it preferred to diefighting rather than fleeing.

It seems probable that a nobleman captured a few of these brave beasts and took them to his village in order to recreate the thrill of the hunt beforehis admiring subjects. Thus some remote part of Medieval Spain saw theorigins of what is today the national Spanish spectacle of bullfighting.

The history of bullfighting recalls that the first real bullfight, orcorrida, took place inn 1133 at Vera, Logroño in honour of the coronationof King Alfonso VIII. From then on they became a popular pass time at manyimportant events and continued after the wars of reconquest had finished offering noblemen an outlet to demonstrate the zeal and daring with which hedefeated the Moors.

King Philip II however found the spectacle disgusting and enlisted thehelp of Pope Pius V to get it banned by papel decree. This, together withthe growing pleasures to be had at the royal court, resulted inthe nobility giving up their interest in bullfighting but not so thepeasantry who took it enthusiastically to heart and it thus became a symbolof something genuinely Spanish.

By 1726 they were ready to adopt their first bullfighting hero in the from of Francisco Romero from Ronda. He was a man of humble origins who became the firstprofessional bullfighter in Spain. With him the corrida developed into more of an art form. He introduced the estoque, sword, and the muleta,the small cape used in the last part of the fight as it is more easilywielded.

History of Bullfighting- the Modern Corrida.

Today’s bullfight is much as it was developed in the time of Romero.

Normally 6 bulls and three matadors are required for an afternoons corrida. The three matadors dressed in their trajes de luces (suit of lights)enter the arena accompanied by their banderilleros and picadors and the strains of a traditional paso doble. The door to the totil, or bullpen, is opened and one of the bulls emerges.

The matador greets it with a series of manoeuvres, or passes, with a large cape; these passes are usually verónicas, the basic cape manoeuvre (named after the woman who held out a cloth to Christ on his way to the crucifixion). Contrary to popular believe bulls are actuallycolour blind and they go for the cape not because it is red but because itis moving.

The second part of the bullfight is the job of the mounted picadors wholance the bull, normally three times. Then a trumpet blows and the banderilleros on foot move in to place their banderillas ( brightlycoloured barbed sticks) in the beast's shoulders to get it to lower it's headfor the kill. After this a further trumpet sounds which signalsthe faena or final phase of the bullfight. The cloth of the muleta is draped over the estoque and here the matador shows his skill in the passes that he makes.

These consist of the trincherazo which is normally the opening pass performedon one knee then there is the pase de la firma in which the matadorremains motionless whilst passing the cloth under the bulls nose. The manoletina involves holding the muleta behind the body and the naturalpass is one in which the danger to the matador is increased as the estoque is removed from the muleta this reduces the target size and tempting the bull to charge at the larger object—the bullfighter.

After performing these passes for several minutes during which time the matador tries to excite the crowd by moving closer and closer to the horns, he finallyand lines up the bull for the kill. The blade has to pass between the shoulder blades and as the space between them is small the feet of the bullhave to be together as the bullfighter rushes over the horns. The kill is properly performed by aiming straight over the bull's horns and plunging the estoque between the withers into the region of the aorta.

This requires considerable skill and discipline, not to mention a certainamount of raw courage, and for this reason is known as "el momentode la verdad" or the moment of truth.