Manet painted this picture in 1865.
Spain’s northeast region of Catalonia held its final bullfight last weekend, after voting in 2010 to ban the practice. Since the end of the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Catalan nationalists have sought to cast off all things Castilian – referring to Spain’s heartland.
While relatively few Spaniards are real aficionados of bullfighting, many more see it as a national tradition and don’t want it banned.
Attendance at bullfights is down nationwide – from 2,622 in 2007 to 1,724 in 2010, a drop of about one-third.
“Bullfighting has fallen off as the economy has collapsed,” according to Ionela Olteanu, a tour guide at Las Ventas bullring in Madrid. “It’s an expensive hobby. People can’t afford the tickets, and they can’t afford the bulls.”
Source: NPR, September 18
“Of all sports, only bullfighting and mountain climbing and motor racing really try a man, that all the rest are mere recreations, games that children can play.”
Attributed to Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, Marquis of Portago, best known as Alfonso de Portago (born in London, October 11, 1928 – died near Guidizzolo, Mantua, Italy, May 12, 1957). He was a racing driver from Spain.
the kind of rubbish one would expect of a young and overprivileged man, especially in an era where no one cared about the animals being killed and not much about the spectators encouraged to enjoy their death.
After reading Michael Gundy’s Quote, I wonder how old Alfonso would rank the challenge of remembering his full name.
Michael may have omitted the words ‘including to himself’ after ‘best known’. ‘Old’ Alfonso was 28 when he died.
Maybe there’s a hidden message in part of his name — Cabeza de Vaca — cow’s head.