Semana Santa in Málaga. Around 9000 people fit in the almost 150-years-old bullfighting arena in Malagueta. The stadium is loud, visitors cheer on the bullfighters. Dressed in elaborate costumes and a red cloth in their hands, they bask in the limelight. Over hundreds of years, bullfighting was a courageous tradition. However, in reality, this deathly tradition harms not only the bulls but also the bullfighter – the Toreros.
When a bull strikes back
Málaga’s bullfighting arena welcomes onlookers only a few times a year. One of these dates is Semana Santa. During the holy week before Easter, the processions of the brotherhoods are not the only highlight for visitors. Thousands of people also choose to attend a bullfighting.
Unfortunately, during the preparations for the fight for Semana Santa 2026, a sad incident happened. On Good Friday, the former Torero Ricardo Ortiz died. Gored by the bull’s horns. And as that was not tragic enough, the Semana Santa bullfighting still took place. Even though his colleagues paid tribute to Ortiz during the following bullfight, the event was not cancelled or just shadowed by this disaster.
But even if no human would have been harmed, this ongoing tradition might very well be out of time. In the past, people had no other or only a few forms of entertainment. Nowadays, there are nearly unlimited opportunities to spend your free time. Opportunities that do not contain violence and bloodshed.
A sadistic form of animal cruelty
The bulls are killed slowly and painfully, being stabbed multiple times. This happens disguised as a grand spectacle. The audience celebrates the heroism of the Toreros while they cheer for other living beings getting killed. The bulls can not escape. They can not choose. People breed the bulls, give them a life, only to slay them later on.
Nowadays, those scenes of bullfighting remind me more of historic movies or documentaries. Inappropriate and cruel. However, protests against bullfighting gain strength throughout Andalusia. People are taking on the streets to demonstrate for the rights of the animals. They believe that the Spanish culture is not based on cruelty.
Bullfighting throughout Andalusia
During Sevilla’s current Feria, a traditional folk festival, more than one Torero has been seriously injured. They stabbed the bulls with their sword and the bulls in turn gored the bullfighters. One of them was swung around above the bull’s head for a while. Luckily, they escaped an unnecessary death. Still, the recovery is likely to be a very slow process.
Toreros face a lot of these “work-related”-accidents during their career. Bullfighting schools prepare them on how to trick and slay and live in honor based on blood. In Málaga, bullfights take place around ten days a year. So rarely that it does not even seem to be worth it. This outdated culture of killing for fun and entertainment is slowly dying. More people start to see the cruelty behind this highly celebrated tradition and turn away from this slaughter. At least, a glimmer of hope.
