Warning: this first paragraph is a little graphic. Friday, I went to a Bullfight - Una Corrida. Bullfighting here is still controversial amongst the residents as some view it as tradition and art and others as a thing of the past that should be left there. Torredores themselves are treated as a type of celebrity and the fights are shown on tv as well as highlights on the news. Furthermore, in the newspaper, the art section covers the event rather than the sports section. The fighting arena is about 1/4 the size of an NBA arena, and thus, fairly small. There were two separate sections - Sol y Sombra. From the horrified looks on people's faces, versus the cheers that were going on, I think that usually Sol which is cheaper and higher up (where we sat) is taken by tourists and Sombra - which is closer to the rink is for the more avid fans. Each fight has 3 Torredores and each Torredor gets two bulls. Thus, there are 6....yes, 6 bulls per fight. As the fight commences, all the people that play a part in the production of the whole thing parade out in their beautiful and elaborate brocade outfits. There is a ceremonial part before the bull comes out where the fighters symbolically ask for permission from "the monarch" (but now its just a judge) for permission to fight. Afterwards, the interaction with the bull begins. The bull comes running out and there are 3 or so Picadores who have pink capes and get the bull riled up. Then a man on horse comes out and takes the first stab with a spear at the bull. This was one of the most upsetting parts of the whole thing because the horse the man is riding on gets jabbed numerous times by the horn of the bull since its rider is stabbing the bull. The horse wears protective armor and is blindfolded but it still is one of the most skin-crawling parts about the whole experience. Then the Picadores come back out and each has two sticks that they hold high and when the bull charges, they stick it in the fat part of their back to make them slowly bleed. Luckily for me, several factors contributed to me not bawling and running out of the arena within the first few minutes 1) Our seats were so high up that we could see, but it was easier to separate ourselves from what was actually going on. 2) A very kind British Vegeterian (ironic, right?) man sat next to me and explained a lot of the history behind it and distracted me. 3) I turned away when it got too bad to watch. Anyway, after all three Picadores have gone, the Torredor comes out and does his thing. The way in which they arch their bodies and move the cape is actually very beautiful. The higher the skill of the fighter, the more daring he is with how close he can bring the bull to him. But watching, its almost like the Torredor is dancing. After the bull gets stabbed though, I had to completely stop watching because it was too upsetting and I dont want to further explain what happens because I'm sure you get the picture. I am glad I went, because, well, I'm in Spain and at what other time in my life would I ever go? However, I left feeling like I dont need to go back. However, I did learn a lot of things. 1) The arena is the last building that has extreme influence of the Romans that is still actively used. 2) You can tell how the Rodeo evolved from Bullfighting 3) Part of the strategy of the fight is that the bull has to figure out that it is not the cape coming after him, but the man. 3) It is really revered as an art by those who still advocate for it. 4) The sport is all men.
Saturday, I went to a FÚTBOL game!!!! FC Sevilla vs. Valencia. In Sevilla, there are two teams for the city - Betis and FC Sevilla. The two teams have a rivalry where if you support one side, you are a fan only of that side and maintain a full blown hatred for the other. Anyway, we got tickets to the FC Sevilla game and it was insane. My friends that bought the tickets asked for us to be in the section of the stands where all the fans that really get into it sit. However, once other people started getting the game, and started sitting in their position, I quickly started to see that our seat assignments were not going to matter. All the seats had newspapers on them which had info about all the club teams current standings, but people just rip them up and throw them in the air. The fans also cluster into groups of friends and each one has a club scarf that they swing in the air....that is really how they "wear" their pride and spirit because most of the fans don't dress in the team colors. As the game was getting close, everyone stood on their seats and music/chants started playing over the loud speakers to which the fans, which are predominantly male belted out all the words with all the passion they had. The male that spoke over the speaker system wasn't keeping a run of commentary, but rather was riling up the crowd. I really have never seen such a large quantity of fans be so passionate about something. It was almost like whenever something bad happened or good, the fans took it as if something was personally affecting them. The word fanatic can't even begin to describe it. Which brings me to my next point, once FC Sevilla scored, the crowd went nuts. The group of guys in front of me hugged each other with such passion that consequently, Avery and I were pushed over like a pair of bowling pins into the row behind us - and we went down laughing the whole time.
That type of excitement continued for the whole game. FC Sevilla won, which puts them in 2nd place rankings right behind Betis who is #1.
Sunday, I went to Cádiz with CIEE. It was like one of those cities you see in a travel calendar - little buildings, perfect weather and obviously full of history.
CIEE took us on a tour of the town, which was nice to get to walk around but I would have loved to be there for more than a day so I could explore on my own more. During the tour, we were taken to the square that has the cathedral and got to climb up one of the towers. At the top, was breathtaking views of the city from numerous vantage points. There were little coves within the tower that had windows to look outside or little shrines. My favorite was one with a statue that had light coming in and illuminating it from behind and there were monetary offerings all around it, including several 1000 currencies.
After the Cathedral, we walked around a little more and stumbled upon a fish vendor. My friends bought two cones of fish for us to try - one was dried strips of Tuna (but it was really moist, if that makes any senes) and it was so so so good and the other was little shrimps that you just eat like peanuts.
Then we walked to the beach and spent a few hours just relaxing on the sand and drinking some Tinto de Verano.Monday, I had my first day of classes. During registration, I put 3 classes on M,W and one on T, TR.....we dont have classes on Fridays. However when I got my schedule, everything was on M and W. So, I have a four day weekend but crazy M and W. At 9am - 11am, I have class at Universidad de Sevilla - Spanish Cinema. Yesterday, we watched clips from 7 films that have been influenced by Carmen and the over-romanticized version of Spain. Oh, and its slightly ironic since the story of Carmen takes place in the tabacco factory in Triana which is the building that the Universidad de Sevilla currently occupies. Then I go to the CIEE center for class at 1 - 3 for Women Writers in Spain. I am already obsessed with this teacher. I think its going to be more of a women's issues class which normally I would be wary of but so far I have loved every minute of class. It is more of a discussion format than reading. Then from 5-7 I have Academic Writing and Critical Thinking....yeah, I have to take it because my placement test scores were low. My teacher reminds me of a nun. Then 7-9 is Psych of Learning a Second Language. Maribel is in my class and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what its going to be like.
Lastly, my interest group at CIEE (Four Cultures of Spain) had out first activity and we met a gypsy. Yeah, the gypsy culture is very prevalent in Spain which I was unaware of. It took so much to not ask about My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Anyway, it was nice to get to talk to a gypsy - this one was a little less traditional but I see them all around town, mostly by the Cathedral. I appreciated the chance to actually hear a little bit more in depth.
Whew. Ok. Sorry, I will try to write more often so I dont have such doozies of posts.
Besos,
Larissa
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