Most people limit their exposure to bullfighting to Ernest Hemingway novels. The thousands of men — and women — who make annual pilgrimages to Pamplona and other cities in Spain to run with the bulls are in the minority of
Most people limit their exposure to bullfighting to Ernest Hemingway novels. The thousands of men — and women — who make annual pilgrimages to Pamplona and other cities in Spain to run with the bulls are in the minority of humanity. You don’t have to be an animal-rights activist to be absolutely creeped out by the masochistic danger that results from antagonizing angry, 2,000-pound bulls. Injuries to those who want to experience the adrenalin high of running with the bulls has increased 5.1 percent annually since 1980, according to news reports.
While running with the bulls has always been stupid, what happened on Spanish television recently was horrifying. Victor Barrio, a 29-year-old bullfighter, was gored to death while millions watched. The young matador, who performed a dance of death with bulls many times since 2010, either ran out of luck or finally met an opponent that was too fast and too inscrutable even for him.
Barrio’s lungs were punctured as a horrified nation looked on. Though he was treated at the scene, his wounds were too extensive. By the time he reached the hospital, he was close to death, if not dead already. He was the first fatality among matadors this century. Bullfighting is a cherished part of Hispanic culture, rooted in a way that is difficult for others to appreciate. There’s no chance it will go away anytime soon. That’s too bad because it should.
The bull, of course, is in a no-win situation. If the matador is to live, the bull must die. Occasionally, the bull “wins” and either kills or injures the matador. But the bull is then put to death for having defended itself. Apologists for bullfighting see something “redemptive” about the whole ritual while others just see it for what it is — naked barbarism.
This year’s running of the bulls in Pamplona produced various injuries, some of them serious. Fortunately, there hasn’t been a death at Pamplona since 2009. At Pedreguer, a 28-year-old was killed recently during a bull run through the streets of that city.
There is much ritual and national pride wrapped up in bullfighting. Still, that doesn’t mean a serious discussion about the place of such a barbaric spectacle at the center of Spanish life isn’t long overdue.
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
