Essay On Bullfighting

Something as old as bullfighting might seem out of style but it is quite a prominent sport. The show of bullfighting has been around for a long time and was a popular spectacle in ancient Rome. It was fully developed in the Iberian Peninsula. The North African Moors changed this sport from a “formless spectacle practised by the conquered Visigoths to a ritualistic occasion observed in connection with feast days on which the conquering Moors, mounted on highly trained horses, confronted and killed the bulls.”(Spainsh Fiestas) Around 711A.D. the first bullfight took place in celebration for the crowning of King Alfonse VIII. King Felipe V liked the sport but he banned it from the aristocracy because he thought it set a bad example for the public. Once it was banned the commoners accepted the ‘sport’ as something they did and started playing it around 1724. They couldn't afford horses so they did it by dodging the bulls and doing it unarmed. They dodged and taunted the bulls. They eventually ended up placing small spears into them which is where we get banderillas in the bullfights todays. It has been said that bullfighting is literally dancing with death. If they make one wrong move the fighter will get gored which is why it is so important for the
The fiestas of San Fermin are well known because of the running of the bulls. During the running of the bulls, the bulls are lead through the streets of the ‘old quarter’ to the bull ring by the runners. People run with the bulls through the streets and try not to get trampled by them. Since 1910 15 people have been recorded dead from this ‘sport.’ A majority of them were gored by the bulls. They try to minimize injuries by having 200 people work together for medical attention. These volunteers are from the red cross and there are about 20 ambulances there. They have made it possible for a gored person to be stabilized and taken to the hospital in less than 20