西班牙鬥牛 Toros

馬德里的鬥牛季節是在5月15(Fiestas de San Isidro - 馬德里的守護聖人日)開始，每天都有。我是自己直接去鬥牛場買票，鬥牛的價錢從五、六歐元到幾百歐元都有，完全看那場鬥牛賽，鬥牛士的資格及鬥牛的年齡來區分。另外在同一場鬥牛賽裡，除了座位的前後，座位通常分三區，最便宜的sol(陽光下)、最貴的sombra(陰暗)、價錢中等首孓soly sombra(半場有陽光直曬，半場陰暗)。 因為鬥牛賽通常是在晚上將近七、八點開始，在五月的西班牙，太陽在八、九點下山。若坐在陽光區，除了剛開始的熱，到後來得直視太陽，真的很不舒服。我買在soly sombra,剛開始陽光直曬是真的很熱、很不舒服，但後來陽光移動後就很舒服。鬥牛是一種藝術，是一祭典，是一種人與獸的競爭，好的鬥牛士可表現人與獸互動間的力與美，當然不好的鬥牛士，就是一種屠殺，只是不一定是人殺牛，也可能是牛殺人。鬥牛絕對不是單純的殺牛，所以資淺鬥牛士的表演通常價格就要便宜很多。馬德里的鬥牛場是西班牙最大的鬥牛場，真的可以說是金碧輝煌。在西班牙鬥牛士是很崇高的職業，但在馬德里的鬥牛場表演，則是最高的榮譽。
@Bull fighting in Spain

So what happens during a bullfight?:

Firstly the bull is let into the ring. Then, the top bullfighter called the Matador, watches his chief assistant wave a bright yellow and magenta cape in front of the bull to make it charge. He watches this in order to determine the bull's qualities and mood, before taking over himself.
Then a trumpet is sounded and several fighters called Picadores weaken the bull by placing spears into it. This takes around 10 minutes.
Another trumpet is sounded and the Matador now removes his black winged hat and dedicates the death of the bull to the president or the crowd before beginning his faena.
The faena which is the most beautiful and skillful section of the fight and where the matador must prove his courage and artistry. The faena consists of a running at the Matador carrying a muleta. This is a piece of thick crimson cloth draped over a short stick, which can be held in either the left hand or draped over the espada, the killing sword, which is always held in the right hand. Usually the muleta, in left or right hand, is first held in front of the matador to make the bull charge and is then swung across and away from the matador's body hopefully taking the bull with it.
This is a show, basically a dance with death - one wrong move and the Matador could become impaled on the horns of the bull. It is the Matador's job to make this dance dramatic and enjoyable for the audience.
The faena continues until the Matador has demonstrated his superiority over the bull. Once this is achieved the bull is ready to be killed.