Ephemerratic | A slow slaughter at the bull fight, Madrid, Spain (wrap-up)

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A slow slaughter at the bull fight, Madrid, Spain (wrap-up)

By Lauren Girardin

Mon, October 6, 2008

Chin jutting matador | Photo by Lauren Girardin

It ends with an old man crouched over a short-handled hoe, scooping sand soaked with coagulated blood into a woven basket, the kind you might see eco-minded people using to carry fresh vegetables home from the farmers' market.

It begins with a two-year old bull being led to its romanticized death-by-stabbing in Madrid's famous bull ring, Plaza de Toros de las Ventas.

(Faithful email and RSS readers, please visit www.ephemerratic.com to read the rest of the dispatch. Full feeds appear impossible.)

Bloody back of a bull | Photo by Lauren Girardin

Our friends the Baron and Baroness declined our invitation to join us at the corrida, or bullfight, saying "If there's something like a tailgate, we'd be game for that. Otherwise we'll pass." So Todd and I are by ourselves, close to the action in fifth row seats.

The matadores at tonight's fight are foreign noviados, or amateurs, which could mean dull face-offs between a inept matador and bull, or the goring of an inexperienced, clumsy matador.

Either way the bull dies.

First blood comes from a pincdore, a lancer on horseback, who makes a shallow wound along the back of the bull's neck, causing the bull's head to lower so it's easier for the matador to stab later. The bull attacks back, rearing against the blade, desperately trying to take down the heavily padded horse and rider.

It's around this point that the bull starts to cry out. It's a low, desperate moan that echoes off the hard surfaces of the bull ring.

Second blood comes as three successive banderilleros, or flagmen, puncture the bull's back with stubby blades attached to fuzz-covered dowels, looking disturbingly like those hors d'oeuvre toothpicks with the plastic fringe wrapped around one end. Embedded firmly in muscle, the blades keep fresh blood flowing, soaking the fuzz and running down the bull's legs to the ground.

Supposedly, this is done to anger the bull so that he will charge with enthusiasm, making the fight more exciting. In practice, the bull seems weakened and - allowing for some anthropomorphizing - resigned to the death that, at this point, must be all too obvious.

How long can we keep watching the fight before we're totally grossed out? How long can you keep reading this story before you're grossed out?

In bright pink socks and a skintight outfit that spares no genital detail, the matador enters the ring like a hero come home from war. As again and again the matador tries to get the bull to charge, there's an enormous amount of chin jutting, cape snapping, lapel flapping, posturing and swaggering.

Scooping blood soaked sand, Madrid, Spain

Scooping blood soaked sand | Photo by Lauren Girardin

The bull's tongue dangles from his mouth. He's panting and bleeding. It's time for this to end.

Third blood comes when the matador stabs the bull in the back of the neck with a long thin sword. If the sword enters deep enough in the right spot, the bull's legs will buckle, his head will lower, and he'll die. Sometimes, the sword stabs too shallow or off the mark and the matador needs to try again, leaving pulsing, raw muscle visible through the bull's cut hide. Sometimes, the sword pierces a lung and the bull coughs up blood - painful but not enough to kill instantly. Once the bull has collapsed, the matador strides off the field to applause from the crowd.

We're not done. That's not the final blood. A burly man walks over to the bull and unceremoniously stabs him in the back of the head with a dagger, jiggles it around the brain cavity, and yanks it out, perhaps putting a boot on the bull's head for leverage before strapping the bull to a team of horses that drags the body from the field.

In the end, an old man enters the ring carrying a short-handled hoe and a woven basket. He does this six times tonight, collecting the blood of the six bulls that die.

Madrid Travel Tips

Where we ate:

La Trucha - After being in Spain for a while, a Californian will crave vegetables. This is the tapa bar to get them, along with delectable smoked fish and perhaps a free plate of calamari with your drink: YEH!
Lateral - One of the many restaurants with outdoor seating in Plaza Santa Anna, this place took chances by slightly updating traditional Spanish dishes, all while staying affordable, considering the surroundings: YEH
Baraka - The Baron and Baroness are big fans of Samantha Brown, who said Baraka serves the best paella outside Valencia. It was indeed excellent, though admittedly we didn't make it over to Valencia for comparison. We were however, left wondering - where was our crusty rice? Had we been misled?: YEH
Toma Jamón - A strange place. They have a beautiful, tempting leg of jamón in the front doorway, but their free tapa is a plate of pig cracklings. Ignore what they put in front of you and order one of their gigantic jamón sandwiches instead: MEH
La Cava - A small bar with limited tapa near, but not too near, Plaza Santa Anna. They'll give you a free tapa, though nothing too exciting: MEH
Txakolina - Our first encounter with pintxos, of which we'll write about more soon. Overrated, their pintxos are not very good. Our waitress/bartender was truly as dumb as a stump, making it nearly impossible to order and enjoy ourselves: MEH
El Lacon - A warm and friendly bar with a local vibe, where you get to choose one tapa from a short menu for every drink you buy. Be careful though, they might have callos (tripe): YEH
Mas Que Cañas - Mmm...various ham spreads on bread. Ok, the free tapa left a lot to be desired, but they have tables with personal beer taps that measure your drinking, like you're at a gas station: YEH

Where we stayed:

Hostal Villar - Right off the bustling Plaza Santa Anna, it's convenient and budget-friendly but loud and a bit grungy. Bring earplugs in case your room faces the street, as the hotel is right above one of the area's more boisterously drunken bars: MEH
Chic and Basic Colors - If you've got some extra cash, their apartment-style rentals are well-equipped (washing machine!), modernized, and spotless. Becomes more affordable if you share an apartment between four people, with two on the sofa bed: YEH

What we saw:

Walking around Madrid - The guide books and elsewhere have understated how fantastic Madrid is. You could spend a week just walking around looking at its architecture, eating tapa in outdoor plazas, and enjoying city life. Don't miss it: YEH!
Reina Sofia Museum - The Prado gets all the hype, but the Reina Sofia blew it out of the water. The curators seem to be bringing in cutting edge contemporary exhibits. There's also something to say for a museum that stays open this late; we stayed for a long time, only leaving when they closed at 9 pm: YEH!
Bullfight at Plaza de Toros de las Ventas - Despite the gore, it was a completely unusual experience that we'll always remember. It's not for everyone: YEH
Saturday Flea Market in La Latina - A monstrously large outdoor flea market that unfortunately sells mostly the same made-in-China junk you can find at any flea market in the world: MEH
Prado Museum - It is definitely a world-class museum, with world-class crowds. Avoid the free times or you may wait a while to get any glimpse of the big name paintings: YEH
Madrid's metro system - Cheap, easy to navigate, and frequent, the metro trains are the best way to get around: YEH
Plaza Santa Anna - Guidebooks and discussion boards will tell you this is one of the touristy plazas, and to head elsewhere. Bah, it was fine. More than fine even, it had some nice tapa places nearby. The drinking crowd can get very loud and rowdy on weekends especially, evidenced by the tapa booth that was set on fire one night. Despite the bozos: YEH
Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor - These plazas are as touristy as they say, if not more so. Plaza Mayor especially was really kitsch. The architecture is worth a visit but plan on heading elsewhere to eat or chill out: MEH

Photos from Madrid, Spain

If you can't see the photo slide show above, view the photo set on Flickr.

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Mike G

Oct 7, 2008 |

I cant stand watching the bull fights, it's so messed up to do all of that to a drugged bull. Plus those matadoors thrust their groins out way too far, I'd be out there in the ring helping the bull.