Bull Fighting: A Spanish Ritual - By: VacationRentalPeople

Bullfighting stems from the days of when people believed that killing a sacred bull was a necessary act of Mithras. It is often linked with Rome, where human versus animal matches were put on as exhibition events. Other theories are that it was introduced by the Emperor Claudius who saw it as a substitute for gladiators, when he put a short term ban on combat.

The first documented bullfight took place in Spain for a celebration that was the crowning of King Alfonso VIII. The sport was originally meant for the upper class and use to take place on a horseback. King Felipe V changed that though and banned upper class people taking part, stating that it is a bad example to public. This is when the commoners started to accept the sport as their own and since horses were out of the question (as they couldn't afford them), they developed a technique of dodging bulls on foot and unarmed. This happened around 1724, bullfighting spread from Spain to Central and South America countries and in the 19th century to France, where it developed into a distinctive form in its own right. It was Francisco Romero who introduced the red cape into bullfighting.

In Spain they call it Corrida de Toros and it is the most traditional of Spanish Fiestas. It is considered a form of art and is linked with their countries history. Although there have been pressure groups that have attempted to lobby against Bullfighting but the King of Spain has allegedly been quoted saying 'that the day the EU bans Bullfighting is the day Spain leaves the EU.' Today Bull fighting is serious business and the Matadores earn a salary that is comparable to top footballers and pop stars in the country. The Malagueta Bullring in the Costa del Sol capital is the largest in the province and holds a capacity of 14,000. Costa del sol has some brilliant other attractions and holds a few festivals, in which one of the highlights will be bullfighting with the location on the south coast of Spain, it’s no surprise people choose to stay their vacations in a Costa del Sol villa.

Some countries have a different take on Bullfighting for example in Portugal it is roughly similar to the traditional bullfighting but they use a horse for the first stage to get the bull's back, then in the second stage eight men take down the bull (but they don't kill it.) Once it’s done the bull is taken away where it might be killed by a professional butcher or if they feel that the bull done an exceptional performance then they will heal it and release it into pasture or use to breed more bulls.

In some countries the bull isn't killed for example in France bullfighting is different. It is known as course libre or course camarguaise, this is also bloodless (unless the bulls win), as the goal of it is to snatch a rosette from a young bull's head. It lasts up to 20 minutes and the reseteurs (French matadors) can't use their hands (they use a claw.) In America they have their own spin on Bull fighting, where it is used for comic effect and to protect the bull rider at the rodeo after he has been thrown to the ground. It is a one minute skirmish between the bull and bullfighter (rodeo clown, barrel man, or comic) in which the bullfighter tries to score points in various ways such as how close he can come to the bull.

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