When someone says Spain or Mexico, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Besides the alcohol? 95% of the time it is bull fighting or the running of the bulls. First we will discuss bull fighting. Bull fighting is a sacrificial ritual when the men in the town will put themselves up against an animal bred for the ring. This is a very popular sport, seeing as how the majority of all towns have been having bullfights for what seems like forever. Many families will raise their children around the bulls and around the rings if they wish for their sons to grow up and become matadors. The matador is the name of the bullfighter once he fights so many bulls and completes so many kills. The matador normally wears a colorful, silk outfit that is embroidered with gold sequins. .
Many of the cows and bulls are let to roam wild until they are about two years old. If the cow or bull puts up a good fight when the ranchers go to catch her/him then that cow or bull will be set-aside for breeding purposes. In order for a bull to be old enough to "fight in the ring" it has to be AT LEAST four years old. This is completely understandable considering everything that the bull must endure before the fight is over. Weeks in advance the fighters and their families will begin to pick out the bull that they think will perform the best. After the bull is chosen, that bull is slowly tortured (throughout a span of like a week) so that it will be angry and hostile in the ring. But, this is all to have a better perform.
There are three stages, or tercicos, in the process of the corrida, or bullfighting. During the first two stages, it is important for the matador to be both flamboyant as well as careful. It is important that the bull's horns do not strike him. During the third stage is when he goes in for the kill . . . LITERALLY! During the third stage, the matador is supposed to try to kill the bull in one blow. Depending on how many times it takes him to kill the bull is how well he is given points.
