I am only adding this picture to lighten the mood before showing bull fight pictures. PETA members and the faint of heart should not scroll down.
Post-fight.
This bull is about to be dealt his final blow. 
So, the bull fight. Ryan and I went on Saturday (the last day of Quito’s independence celebration), which was a beautiful sunny day. When the sun comes out in the mountains on the Equator, it is also quite hot and you are likely to get dehydrated and sunburned, which still somehow surprises me. The fight is quite the classy occasion given what takes place. Everyone comes in cowboy hats and boots. I knew what was coming… Quito's bullfight is a pretty renowned occasion, and yes, they kill the bulls. There are 6 rounds-- 6 matadors for 6 different bulls. Whichever matador kills the bull in the most glorious fashion (basically gets the closest to being speared by bull horns) wins.
Round 1. Man, it was really hot. The opening procession was beautiful, all the matadors in their costumes. There are other matadors on armored horses that come out and spear the bull as well. It is really quite gruesome, but also beautiful in a medieval way.
Round 2. Started to not feel so great. Really, not great at all. Told Ryan. Started hearing only buzzing, started seeing only grey blobs. There was no escape, there were 1000 screaming bull fans and I was in the seat (of course) farthest from a door. I passed out, apparently unresponsive for at least 4 minutes. When I woke up I had 6 Ecuadorian firefighters and Red Cross workers around me. I started talking to them in Spanish! That is fluency! Everyone was staring… and this was an ARENA mind you. When I finally got up with the medics helping me to the shade, people cheered. I had strangers coming up to me the rest of the day, laughing because the foreigners always pass out.
I think it was a combination of dehydration, altitude sickness (I had just gotten back from the coast) and bull blood. I would just like to publicly thank Ryan for putting up with me. You can't take me anywhere. After intermission I went back and watched the last 2 bulls, actually kind of enjoying it. I felt sick the rest of the day but am much better now.
Sorry for the graphic pictures, it's hard to envision the situation without them!
3 comments:
What do they do with the dead bulls? Do they eat them or just get rid of them?
Mom
They can't eat them, it's against the sacred rules or something. They keep the head and display it. Then they bury the rest in a ceremony.
Thanks for the memories! I'm one of your mom's WSM friends. In college our marching band performed half time shows in a bullring in Venezuela, where they also killed the bulls. Didn't pass out, but I do remember the gore, and the altitude sickness.
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