'A Place for Nobody': The Closing of the Plaza de Toros

When Gustavo Petro became mayor three years ago, he vowed to end bullfighting and convert the historic Plaza de Toros Santamaria into a center for arts and culture, as well as a tourist attraction.

The Plaza de Toros would be transformed into a Plaza de Todos, a 'stadium for everyone.'

A threat? Bullfighters staging a sit-in in front of the plaza.

For a while, Petro seemed to keep his word. He allowed no more bullfights after Feb. 2012 and for a while the plaza was used for sports events, concerts and even, most memorably, ice skating.

However, about a year ago, the sports and cultural events stopped. The only activities which continued there were morning bullfighting practices and visits by tourists, including Bogotá Bike Tours. We'd visited the stadium for years, thousands of time, and never experienced a single problem. Foreign and Colombian tourists enjoyed exploring the handsome old Moorish-style building and learning about la fiesta brava, as well as the building's dramatic political history.

About three months ago, a group of young bullfighters began a (pseudo) hunger strike in front of the stadium, and their morning practices inside ended.

Tourists by a statue of famed Colombian bullfighter Cesar Rincon.

Then, about three weeks ago, the District Institute for Sports and Recreation (IDRD), which administers the city-owned building, changed the building's administrator. The new administrator shut the historical monument to visitors. When I talked to her, she cited the hunger strikers camped out in front of the building.

"When the tension subsides, we'll reconsider," she said.

We had never noticed any tension, with the bullfighters, who are quiet and friendly - or anybody else. Days passed, and the imaginary tension didn't disappear. The stadium remained shut.

Tourists on the plaza's arena.

We sent a letter and called the IDRD. An IDRD official also mentioned the hunger strikers to justify the closure. I pointed out that the strikers are very friendly people, and, in any case, are on the sidewalk outside the stadium - so what possible relevance do they have to what goes on inside the stadium? No reply.

The IDRD did, however, reply to our letter., They justified the closure on the "ongoing process of structural reinforcement for the stadium." Mayor Petro has argued that the old building needs repair work. Many suspect that's an excuse he invented to not allow bullfights. But, whatever the truth, the fact is that no work of any kind has started there - and may never. The handsome old building sits empty and used by nobody.

The Petro administration, rather than turning the old plaza into 'a place for everyone,' has transformed it into 'a place for nobody.' A brilliant move for a city which aspires to make itself into a tourist destination

It's really absurd that one of Bogotá's historical monuments is closed to the public - and even the bureaucrats who made the decision don't seem to know why.

The Moorish-style building was designed by a Spanish architect.

Ride that bull!

The stadium's backside.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

A Stadium for Nobody?

Worn and empty benches in the Santamaria bullfighting plaza.

When he got elected in 2012 with the fervid support of animal rights activists, Mayor Gustavo Petro promised to turn the Santamaria bullring into a cultural center. The Plaza de Toros would become a Plaza de Todos - a place for everybody.

The entrance to the Moorish Santamaria Plaza. 

For a while, that seemed to become reality. The last bullfights were held in early 2012, and for a while the plaza was used for cultural events: concerts, gymnastics, theater, high-diving and, most memorably, ice skating. Attendance, however, was irregular.

But since late last year the plaza has sat sadly empty and unused, except for occasional visits by tourists and bullfighters practicing their passes. It's a sad state for one of Bogotá's historical, architectural and cultural landmarks. The stadium was built in 1931 by cattleman Ignacio Sanz de Santamaría, who went bankrupt doing it, and has been the scene of landmark events such as the launch of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan's presidential campaign and a 1950s political massacre by henchmen of dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla.

It also has been South America's most important bullfighting arena, hosting immortals such as Manolete, José Tomás and Colombia's Cesar Rincon.

A statue of Cesar Rincon,
Colombia's most famous bullfighter.

Now, Mayor Petro plans a $37 billion peso remodelation of the building, projected to last thru 2018. (Naturally, it'll take longer and cost more.) The plaza is unquestionably worn and bedraggled. Some of the concrete seats are cracked and crumbling, the paint is fading and weeds sprout in corners. But the building seems structurally sound. The renovation is intended to make the plaza better for concerts and other events. But why invest all that money if the plaza already works for such events - and yet sits empty? Besides, the plaza's neighbors have sued to prohibit concerts there, and their attitude won't likely change.

In 2013, Petro installed an ice skating rink in the plaza during the normal bullfighting season - which just happened to make bullfighting impossible. Some of us suspect that the renovation plan is really yet another maneuver to prevent bullfights, and that once renovated, the plaza will no longer be useful for bullfights.

The bullfighting stadium is a handsome landmark with a great location, so it's a tragedy that it sits nearly unused. With a simple facelift it'd be an excellent site for concerts, cultural events - and even bullfights. But closing the place for four years and spending a small fortune on it isn't the way to get the most out of the plaza.

Ignacio Sanz de Santamaría, a cattleman who donated the land and built the stadium - and went bankrupt in the process. The stadium carries his name. 

Cracks and weeds in the stands.

The empty arena, except for a few bullfighters practicing.

A plaque commemorating Jorge Eliecer Gaitan 1948 launch of his presidential campaign. 

A plaque commemorating Manolete, one of history's greatest bullfighters, who fought here.

Pepe Rincon, a Colombian bullfighter who was killed fighting in Manizales.

The presidential boxes.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Bogotá's Silent Stadium

Party poopers? Residents of the Torres del Parque, behind the Santamaria bullfighting plaza, object to concerts in the plaza. 

Juanes, the Colombian pop singer, was supposed to perform tomorrow in the Plaza de Toros Santamaria.

Perhaps the small, historic bullfighting plaza would have been an appropriate venue for Juanes, who is a popular guy, but no Madonna or Paul McCartney.

But it was not to be. The residents of Las Torres del Parque, which overlook the plaza, complained, and the concert was shifted to the huge Estadio el Campin.

Lots of singers have performed in El Campin. But I suspect that Juanes won't be able to fill it, leaving his concert looking a bit disappointing. The Santamaria would have provided a more intimate setting for Juanes's tender, if sappy, songs.

The bullfighting plaza's neighbor certainly have a right to sleep at night. But I imagine that Juanes, who is no heavy metaler, will stop singing at a reasonable hour. And anybody who moves into an apartment beside a stadium has got to expect to have some noisy activities there.

And particularly now that Bogotá Mayor Petro wants to end bullfighting in the Santamaria, it's important to find other uses for on of Bogotá's architectural landmarks.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Bogotá's Newest Beach

Bogotá's got a new beach! For the annual Festival del Verano (Summer Festival), they've built a beach in the Plaza de Toros - where in normal years amateur bullfighters would be facing off against angry bulls about this time. A beach isn't a beach without water, of course, so the bullfighting stadium also has a small swimming pool. 

Bogotá's only other beach is in Simon Bolivar Park. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Bullfighting Stadium's Radical Makeover

Stop! Animals Free of Torture!

'Petro: We Support Your Decision' to end bullfighting,
says this sign in the center of the bullfighting plaza. 

Just a little while ago, when the bullfighting stadium's security guards thought a potential visitor looked like an anti-bullfighting protester, they told them to go away.

But as of about ten days ago the stadium passed from the administration of the Corporacion Taurina to the municipal Institute of Recreation and Sports (IDRD), transforming the plaza into a place of animal rights activism determined to end bullfighting.

A bike tour participant gives an interview denouncing bullfighting. 

Notes on a message tree, mostly denouncing bullfighting. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

A New Beginning for the Bullfighting Stadium?

No bull here: Playing in the stadium's sand. 

Today, Bogotá's Institute of Sports and Recreation (the IDRD) put on a cultural/artistic festival in the Plaza de Toros, which, if Mayor Petro has his way, will host no more toros. Certainly, the mimes, dancing, art and sandboxes provided a very different atmosphere from the mauling and killing of animals.

Still, bullfighting and other activities aren't mutually exclusive. In normal years, the bullfighting season lasts only a month and a half, and it's a real pity that the handsome plaza sits empty for most of the rest of the year.

Mimes play tug-of-war.

An Afro-Colombian dance troupe did its thing. 

No protesters today. A bored line of riot police outside. 

Photographing a mime. 

The sign denounces mistreatment of animals. 

Writing notes on a wishing tree. Many of the messages called for an end to bullfighting. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours