Once Was More Than Enough

Another part of the Christmas celebrations in Cali is a series of bull fights the four Saturdays before the holiday; after all, feria sin toros no es feria (feria or "fair" is the name of the of the time and celebrations leading up to Christmas) .  These events take place in at the Plaza de Toro in Cali, which happens to be the largest bull fighting arena in Colombia, and fairly large in comparison to others that our friend Wojciech visited in Spain.  When our Spanish teacher Nora offered us free tickets to the bullfight, we eagerly accepted, wanting to experience more of the Colombian culture while we are here.  I did not, however, know that the bulls are killed.  Did you?  How sad.  After Nora told us this I was a little less eager, but we decided it would still be an interesting adventure to see what the atmosphere was like t one of these events.  And so last Saturday, December 10th, we set off to the Plaza with Woj, Mike and Jeff (it turned into another boys + Cassie day) and an open mind. 

By the time the first bull was set loose into the arena, the plaza was nearly full with people and lots of families and kids, which I was surprised by.  David of course made a friend with the older Colombian gentleman sitting next to us who spoke pretty good English from having lived with an American family in Cali for nearly 20 years.  Situations like this are always amusing as we try to practice our Spanish speaking to them and they respond in English, it can get confusing.  I don't have a whole lot to say about the experience other that I would not do it again: once was more than enough.  Me and my open mind were able to see the skill involved in what the matadors were doing and I can see where the excitement and spectatorship come from, if you can get past what is actually being done to these bulls (which I will not discuss in detail).  And although the odds lie greatly in favor of the matador, my favor part was when one of them turned his back on the bull (something they all did) strutting with pride about whatever move he had just made and the bull came after him form behind.  Go bull!  Unfortunately, the end was the same for this bull as it was for all the others.  We were assured that they are well taken care of up until the time of the event, and they do not get thrown to waste, but are used for meat afterward, but I'm not sure that made it any better. 

Matadors entering the arena.

Pretty full plaza.

Woj, Jeff and Mike watching the bull fight.

So, yes, this could have been one of those things I take a stance on and refuse to go to for the sake of animal right, but the events were going to happen anyway and I looked at this strictly as a cultural experience.  In other words: please don't judge me.  I didn't enjoy it and I won't likely ever go again, but I think it is important to be willing to understand and at least attempt to find appreciation for the traditions of other cultures and countries, even if they may seem a bit gruesome.