Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Amateur Bullfighting Scenes, 2011

Aspiring bullfighters in their suits of lights.
The 2011 amateur bullfighting season, held during the first two weekends of August, passed sin pena ni gloria: the aspiring bullfighters neither suffered any serious injuries nor demonstrated any great bullfighting. The bulls, of course, didn't end up so well.

Aspiring toreros have spent months and years practicing for a real fight. 


Readying the arena. 

Preparing a horse - these also often get injured, sometimes fatally, during bullfights. 

The chapel, where bullfighters ask the Virgin of La Macarena  for good fortune. Only one bullfighter has been killed here, a Mexican during the plaza's first years.  

Fit for kids? Bullfighting fans. 

Outside the stadium, young people protest bullfighting's cruelty. Do they ever protest at slaughterhouses?
I didn't see any of the fights - never have. But there are plenty available on YouTube.

Afterwards, a bull's blood on the sand. 

A bull's head and bones in a Bogotá market. How different is this bull from the other slaughtered animals alongside?

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

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