The photos below are what we saw.
Photos
were prohibited, but they did have this spot set up for tourist
photos. The Escher exhibit was excellent and if you are a
fan of his work, you should check it out. It was only in
his later years that he started experimenting with the things
that he is most known for, prior to that he was a "conventional"
artist doing lithographs (and plenty of them).
The
Plaza de Toros is very big and ornate on the outside. Note
the Moorish influence in the tile and brickwork. Built in
1929, it is the soul of Madrid.
Beautiful
hand-painted tile on the facade and tile on the roof. Note
the beautiful patterns in the bricks.
I assume
this fellow was a famous bull fighter.
The sun
side of the arena are the "cheap seats" so everybody that could
afford it was in the shade. The fights started at 1800 on
the dot.
The
fighters and horses did a lap around the stadium prior to the
first bull.
The
fight proceeds in an organized manner: the bull is
released. He is then taunted by the fighters causing him
to run around and get tired. Then the horses are brought
in to attack the neck muscles. Then the barbs are inserted
to further debilitate the neck muscles. Finally, the
featured matador is brought it for the kill.
These
fellows have big brass balls as they have to get close enough to
insert the barbs without getting gored. One of the bulls
did manage to impact one of the fighters.
The
trick is to get the bull close, but not too close, and do the
cape work with style and grace.
The bull
is almost touching the matador. A well done pass.
Killing
sword in hand, the matador lines up the strike. It must be
precise as a miss results in a long death. The sword must
miss the scapula and ribs and go top-down into the heart.
Look
closely, the sword is fully embedded in the bull's back.
This was
a heart-strike as there was no bleeding from the nose.
We'll see more of that later in this photo set.
One of
the other assistants comes in with a smaller knife and severs
the spinal cord to prevent injuries to the other workers.
A team
of mules is brought in to haul off the carcass.
Next
bull, this is a dangerous maneuver as the matador is on his
knees and cannot easily escape injury if the bull's attention
departs from the cape to the human.
A good
pass.
The bull
is being stabbed in the neck muscles. Note the body lean
on the horse as it attempts to offset the force of the bull.
This
fellow got very close to being gored.
More
barbs in the back.
A close
pass.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.