Enter the bullring but please spare the bull.....

My lovelies, dear readers, beware... you might not like this post...today I'm taking you to la Plaza de toros in Granada. Monchéri and I ended up there last week as I had a routine checkup in the Hospital San Cecilio which is next to the bullring. Although Monchéri is not an aficionado (bullfight lover) - the only one time, he went to the bullring was to attend a concert of Sting - that day, he shared my curiosity and we actually had lots of fun taking pictures there.

I visited la Plaza de Toros in Sevilla, a few years ago and I must say the bullring in Granada pales in comparison. Still, imagine what it might feel like to enter the arena

you choose your seat between shade or sun. Of course, as everybody wants to be in the shade, seats in the sun are cheaper. We thought the cement steps looked a bit decrepit and uncomfortable. You can actually rent a cushion to sit comfortably

this is the door through which the bull enters the arena

the door is opened by a mechanism of ropes tied to several grates like this

when I took flamenco classes in Paris, we once had the visit of a young torera who taught us a few pasos. Here I'm trying a media veronica (this paso consists of presenting the cape to the bull) but please note, the feet position is totally wrong

olé ! at least I have one supporter....
The surrounding buildings include a chapel, an emergency room and...a butcher's shop

As much as I enjoy the aesthetic aspect of the pasos (steps) and the gracefulness of the matador, I'm definitely against the killing of the bull and the pain inflicted on the animal. I heard some people declare that the bull feels no pain, which is such a stupid and ignorant thing to say. Monchéri explained to me that in very very few cases, when the toro fought bravely, the audience asks he be spared. As you can imagine, Spanish people are quite divided on the subject. Some Andalusian friends even asked me to write here on my blog, that in their mind la corrida is not at all representative of Spanish culture. In Cadix, the external wall of the bullring reads : Aqui se maltratan animales (here animals are injured). The message is constantly erased but reappears the next days.

so no...I don't think I'll ever watch a bullfight. Monchéri thinks I should experience it once. For now, let's enter the taberna and have a fresh cerveza

and meditate on these few lines written by Hemingway, perhaps the biggest non Spanish aficionado, in Death in afternoon (1932), about what he called the art of bullfighting : "He (the toreador) must have a spiritual enjoyment of the moment of killing.."

Well...as we say in colloquial Spanish, este concept no va conmigo meaning I can't quite swallow the concept...

How about you ?

pics : me, Monchéri