28 May 2013

Which Is It?



At six or seven, I got a little teary eyed after watching a Matador's freshly killed bull being dragged out of the stadium by horses. As the blood was being hosed away, The Old Man looked at me and said, "Hey, you either root for the Matador or the bull."
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8 comments:

W. Essex said...

You were quite the little piss-ant faggot, pussy at age six or seven. xoxo

28 May, 2013 16:06
tintin said...

W. Essex - You got some stones for a life guy working for a beagle.

28 May, 2013 18:22
Smitty said...

I always rooted for the bull. The Matador or big game hunter should go bare handed! Mano a Mano, chicken shits! Drop an elephant or tiger at 100 yards with a scope really levels the playing field. I'll buy a ticket when a man goes into the arena/jungle wearing a loin cloth and nothing else!

28 May, 2013 19:14
Anonymous said...

Hey, that's okay, lots of people would root for the bull. Anyhow, you were six or seven! For all you knew, Ferdinand was picking flowers just yesterday.

The "Old Man" must have been Papa Hemingway with you that day.

I was in the "sol" section (cheap seats) across the dust from the seasoned locals in the "sombra" section (better seats). I made a point to watch them and not the bull the instant the picadors and his crew dispatched him for good, and only after the matador was done with him (usually not fast enough). In that instant several in the crowd diverted or closed their eyes. Because I was looking at them (through a telephoto lens) and not the scene in the foreground, I was also spared the view. But I learned something about the resilient yet complex Spanish: even many of them are not so jaded and unmoved.

-DB

28 May, 2013 19:36
tintin said...

DB - You should explain the cheap seats are in the Sol while the better seats are in the shade. The Old Man liked the cheap seats 'cause the bota was passed around.

Not to get too macho about this but I think it's more about the pomp. And that's not the ceremony but more about men risking their lives.

Bulls are scary mother fuckers. Maybe because I was chased by one on a farm in NC once. I dunno but I'll never forget the feeling that bull was pure evil. Pigs, I could deal with but bulls were other worldly.

And with the bull comes the Matador. Balls so big, I don't know how those guys (and gals) walk. They're a hair away on a pass. This isn't deer hunting. It's skydiving, base jumping, ice climbing...the Eiger. It's just that bullfighting is a spectator sport that comes with hundreds of yrs of tradition. I can't help but think it's beautiful to watch. And yes, sometimes you look away.

28 May, 2013 20:03
tintin said...

Let me put it this way...I'd rather hang out with a Matador than a NASCAR driver any day.

28 May, 2013 20:12
M.Lane said...

Once again, the OM is dead on.

And re Nascar you are too.

ML

28 May, 2013 23:09
FRS Naturalist said...

Lovely blog you have herre

19 December, 2023 11:04

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