Corrida de toros in Sevilla

After a great week touring Eastern and Northern Spain, I took a short flight from Bilbao to Sevilla. I've been looking forward to seeing this part of the country for a lot of reasons. Mainly for its rich history, food, upbeat/non-stop nightlife, bullfights, and weather. Sevilla is also the place where many of my best friends met 12 years ago while studying abroad. This city changed their lives and mine forever. I checked into my hostel and immediately started researching what was around my area.


I saw that I was a 7 minute walk to the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (bull fighting arena) and knew I wanted to see it. Better yet, it was Sunday and there just happened to be a bullfight (corrida) that night. Corridas only happen on Sundays so I really lucked out. I ended up scalping a ticket from a toothless local who reeked of alcohol but seemed honest. He saved me 5 euros so I was happy. The corrida was more gruesome than I expected it to be with the bull obviously taking most of the blows. There were a few close calls though where the matador could have gotten seriously hurt and in a weird way I couldn't help but cheer for the bull. After the bull has been 'worn down' by multiple strikes, a skilled matador would be able to finish off the bull with a single thrust of his sword. It took a few of these guys a couple of tries which isn't very crowd pleasing. Corridas aren't your usual 'sporting' event either. Spaniards dress well for them and then go out to dinner and drinks (at around 9:30-10.) The ambiance and people reminded me of Del Mar race track.


In the end I'm glad I went but I want to understand more of the history behind corridas. Something I will definitely be doing soon. One thing I was told was that the bull meat is given to the town's people after the corrida which I thought was cool.