Commentary:
On March 18, Mexico City lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in a move called “bullfighting without violence” to prohibit the harming or killing of bulls during bullfights. The new legislation also limits the time a bull can be in the ring. Animal rights advocates recorded this as a major victory, while bullfighting traditionalists argue that culture and history are being impinged upon.
When I lived in Mexico City, I used to go to the Plaza Mexico on Sundays to watch the bullfights. This facility is the world’s largest bullring, with a capacity of approximately 50,000 people. I was fueled by Ernest Hemingway’s stories of bullfighting in Spain. To this day, The Undefeated, about an aging bullfighter trying to make a comeback, is still one of my favorite short stories. I myself briefly, and by briefly I mean about 60 seconds, was a bullfighter when I was handed a cape and faced a novillo bull (adolescent bulls that are not yet officially ready for the ring) in a stadium in San Juan del Rio, Queretaro. The bull charged me, I flung the cape over its horns, threw the cape on the ground, and ran into the stands, as my friends were dying laughing. Even though the bull was an adolescent bull, the experience was both exhilarating and terrifying.
When I would go to the Plaza Mexico, I used to sit at the top of the stadium because the tickets were cheaper, even though I had to sit in bright sunlight until the sun started setting. I was thrilled to soak up Mexican and Spanish cultural traditions, watching the fights, drinking wine, and smoking cigars. The music and costumes sent chills down my spine. For me it was an otherworldly experience.
One day on my birthday, my friends said that they were going to take me to the bullfights, and they were going to splurge to have us seated low in the Plaza Mexico so that I could see the action from up close. It so happened that day that one bull jumped the barrier and landed in the stands in front of my group. The terrified crowd scrambled up the stairs as far up the stadium as possible. The matadors finally guided the bull back into the ring and the spectacle continued. Another thing happened that day. Sitting so close to the action in the ring, I saw how brutal bullfighting can be, not only to the bull, but to the matadors. That day, I lost my appetite for bullfighting.
When I heard that Mexico City had banned the harming of bulls during bullfights, my mind was filled with relief and also worry for the many people whose livelihoods depend on the industry. Bullfighting is a big industry that has been around for centuries. Thousands of people attend the bullfights in Mexico, Spain, France, and Latin America, and millions upon millions of dollars are generated at the gate. Breeders breed special fighting bulls that put up a fierce fight in the ring. There are bull breeders throughout Spain and Latin America producing the different types of bulls used in the ring.
There are countless vendors that depend on the bullfights to put food on the table. Promoters promote events by buying ad time in the media. Printers print the iconic posters that are synonymous with bullfighting. There are bullfighting schools, where students spend a lot of money learning the craft. Successful bullfighters are treated like rock stars and travel to bullfighting countries to practice their trade. Legendary bullfighters are talked about and treated like NFL hall of famers.
I have seen a style of bullfighting in which a rider on horseback performs graceful moves while avoiding the lunges of the bull. Perhaps, this type of bullfighting will replace the traditional one in which a bull gets jabbed in the back by men called picadores to weaken the bull for the matador, who ends up fighting the bull and eventually killing it. This different style of bullfighting is still exciting and dangerous for the matador. The rider and horse still have to face an irate 1500-pound bull with sharp horns that is bred to fight.
Maybe, the traditional bullfighting style will remain, but with the bull not being picked at, speared, or killed. The bullfighter can still perform his/her traditional moves and display feats of courage to an adoring crowd. I understand that bullfighting traditionalists are likely to be very strongly against the recent decision. However, there has to be a compromise in the middle in which people in the industry still survive, while people in Mexico City still get to see pageant, gallantry, and courage on Sundays without seeing dead bulls dragged out of the ring. Some people might call me a bleeding heart, but having seen the usual result of various bullfights, I believe that this is the right decision.
Jerry Pacheco is President of the Border Industrial Association. Jerry Pacheco's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of KRWG Public Media or NMSU.