Wed 5 Nov 2008
Lima Bullfighting
Posted by daveg under Uncategorized
After making some serious miles, it is a nice break to stay a couple of days in Lima, Peru.
I’m staying in the Miraflores area which is not like the rest of the city and even farther from the rest of the country. Unlike the desert where I saw mudhuts without electricity or power, Miraflores has Starbucks, McD’s, TGI Fridays, Chiles, Burger King, and a few sidewalk cafes that I swear were swiped from the streets of Paris.
To only add the the surreal aspect of this experience, I went to a bullfight. Warning, the following pictures are quite graphic but are the best way to tell the story of going to a bullfight.
The road to Lima on the Panam!
Miles and miles of desert
Lots of religious messages in the sand. I’ve been asked a few times by locals what religion I am.
Musician at the bullfight.
The plaza del toros
A picador, the guy who rides a horse and uses a spear to weaken the bull.
Ornate clothing
Picador in action
The matador. It is really easy to get pics of these guys as they’re always posing
Celebrating after killing a bull by taking a drink of wine that someone threw down from the audience
More picadors.
These guys throw darts into the bull to weaken it.
The matador sticks the sword directly into the heart of the bull from over his head to kill him very quickly.
See, I was here.
This is the taxi drive Juan Carlos. See Juan Carlos, I told you I put you online. Now sign my guestbook!
November 6th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
WOW that is some crazy goring…I hope they are planning to eat that bull. At first I thought the picador was drinking the bull’s blood!
November 9th, 2008 at 8:06 am
They didn’t share the plan with me. I go back and forth about the bull fighting thing. Seeing pictures and watching it in person is such a different experience. In the pictures all I can think of is the cruelty. Watching it in person…. It is an amazingly beautiful thing. The level of seriousness and focus of not only the people involved (matadors, etc) but of the audience is surreal.
It was amazing to feel part of the experience. Everytime the bull was weakened, you could hear a mix of cries in pain as well as cheers. I think everyone is conflicted about bullfights.
Watching the bullfight was one of my most memoriable experiences of the trip.
November 9th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Any shots of the bull winning? If they gore the matador do they win their freedom? Only sounds fair.