Thursday Video: Bullfighting season gets under way

Posted By Michael H. Cognato Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 5:08 PM Share

Spring is in the air—and in Spain and southern France, that's bad news for bulls. The bullfighting season kickstarted this last weekend with a holiday festival in the Provençal city of Arles; Seville and Madrid will have their celebrations in the coming weeks. This week's Thursday Video offers a glimpse of the pageantry and violence from the Arles Féria:

Corrida
Uploaded by Teoz

Like traditional culture elsewhere in the world, bullfighting—or corrida, as enthusiasts prefer to call it—is facing challenges in adopting to the modern world. Many see the practice as a barbaric blood sport best allowed to go the way of gladiatorial combat. Others are pushing for the ritual to adapt by, say, sparing the bull from the slaughter.

Traditionalists, however, are quick to defend the beauty of a matador demonstrating courage, artistry, and complete domination over a powerful creature. They frequently point to the fact that corrida is covered in the arts section of local newspapers, not sports. Bullfighting is also adapting from within: Among the matadors at Arles this weekend was the first French female to enter the ring with a bull at a major holiday festival. And with 30 million people attending corrida in Spain alone each year, she is likely to have enthusiastic crowds to preform in front of for some time.

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