Bull Fighting
It is a ritual spectacle that is usually designated a sport, although there is no scoring or competition between human participants. Although there is a significant degree of skill and danger involved, the bulls are often physically compromised before or during the match.
The controversial but popular spectacle is staged most famously in Spain (where there are over 400 arenas) but also in southern Portugal, some countries in Latin America (principally Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador), in California and in the south of France.
Especially prominent bullrings are to be found at Madrid, Seville and Mexico City. In Pamplona, the "running of the bulls" or encierro, the ritualized stampede through the streets, has overshadowed the corrida itself; the event is dedicated to the patron saint of Navarre Saint Fermín.
Bullfighting goes back to Minoan Crete, where the bull-vaulting ritual practiced by youths of both sexes is memorialized in the famous wall-frescos at Knossos. The frescos offer no hint of struggle or violence, and the Lunar Bull was a sacred animal. Modern archaeologists tend to emphasize the danger involved in this athletic skill and may underestimate the extent to which the bull cooperated. The killing of the sacred bull (tauromachy) is the essential central iconic act of Mithras, which was commemorated in the mithraeum wherever Roman soldiers were stationed.
In the era of mounted bullfighting, it was a sport of nobility like jousting. The introduction of ground fighting allowed commoners to practise it. It became a means for poor people to achieve fame and fortune. When a famous torero was asked why he risked his life, he reportedly answered Más cornás da el hambre ("Hunger hits harder with its horns").
Some separatists despise bullfighting because of its association with the Spanish nation. Recently Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia was declared an anti-bullfighting town. However, even a former Herri Batasuna leader was a novillero before becoming a politician.
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