Friday, March 16, 2012

Plaza de Toros Guadalajara

My friends Joe, J.C. and I went to the bullfights in Guadalajara on Sunday.  I truly had no clue what I was about to see.  There would be six bulls and three Matadors.  A Mariachi band entertained outside the Plaza de Toros.  Tables were outside the arena so you could eat and drink to your hearts' content.  Admission was 28 dollars each, which I thought was kind of pricey.  If you wanted to sit very high and in the sun, you could buy tickets for about 16 dollars.

The bullfights lasted 20-30 minutes each.  I am not going to describe what happens at each stage of the "fight".  I will say that from start to finish, it is sheer torture for the bull.  The bull has absolutely no chance of coming out on top of this "fight".  Some people tell me it's part of Mexicos' culture.  In response to that I say slavery was part of the United States culture!  So was burning witches at the stake!  I do have pictures that follow, however none show the killing of the bull.
Joe and J. C.
Mariachis' entertaining outside the Plaza De Toros.

The sunny side of the Plaza is pretty well deserted.
I like the horse pads.  Keeps them from getting gored.  They need to protect the bull in the same way!
The seats are very narrow and made of concrete.  Buy a pad for $1.50.
I have no idea why there are two circular chalk lines.
Shade seat sections were more crowded than the sun sections. 
We think the reason for the light crowd was the burning of 25 cars and buses 2 days earlier in downtown Guadalajara.  Luckily, the perps allow people to get out before they set the vehicles on fire.
When the crowd thinks the Matador has done a good job, they throw their hats into the arena.  This gentleman (in the white T shirt on the right photo with his hand on the rail) started out dressed in a suit.  I think he was a little tanked.  He ended up in his underwear.
I wanted to end this blog on a light note.We have fostered 9 Pit Bull puppies for 6 weeks.  These are the last two.  Lukas, the one on the left is going to our neighbor Tori, the runt still needs a home.  We found the other 7 really good families.  We are definitely going to miss these guys.  We have learned that, by nature, Pit Bulls are not bad dogs.  Some people transform them into vicious animals.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Ken,

    It is always recommendable to read up before seeing a corrida. It is not a sport nor a "fight". It is not about fairness.

    I recommend this website:

    http://www.aficionados-international.com/

    Best,

    M.

    ReplyDelete