Bull fighting has been around for a long time; for example, the ancient Etruscans participated in some form of bullfighting and the Romans also enjoyed the spectacle. Bullfighting really developed in the Iberian peninsula (the area that later became Spain and Portugal). The Moors refined the sport, introducing men on specially trained horses. Eventually the spectators became more interested in men fighting bulls on foot, and bullfighting essentially became what it is today in 1726, when the sword and muleta (a small cape used by the matador) were introduced.
It takes lots of people to stage a bullfight. There is the matador, who is the main human attraction of the event and who fights the bull with a sword. Many matadors come from bullfighting families; being a matador is an expensive business, as a matador has to buy or rent a costume and equipment, pay his team, and also pay for his chance to fight the bull. There are picadors, men mounted on horses who lance the bull, and banderilleros, men who thrust barbed sticks into the bull while on foot. Then, of course, there is the bull. Bulls in the ring are specially bred fighting bulls and are three to four years old.
A bullfight has three distinct stages. Before these stages begin, the bull is let into the ring and the matador and bandilleros test the bull for ferocity by waving a large cape at it. Then the first stage begins. During this stage, the matador observes the bull and a picador thrusts a lance at the bull's neck. This weakens the bull. In the second stage of the bullfight, the banderilleros try to stab the bull with their barbed sticks, as close to the picador's original wound as possible--further weakening the bull. In the third stage, the matador reappears, attracting the bull with his cape and drawing it in as close as possible. If the matador is successful, he will kill the bull with a blow through the heart. Sometimes, if the bull performs well, its life is spared by the matador or crowd.
Bullfighting is mostly associated with Spain, although it is also popular in Portugal, parts of Southern France and in Latin America (the largest bullfighting ring, or corrida, is located in Mexico City and can seat 40,000). Styles can vary based on location, with some areas using cows instead of bulls or concentrating on the bullfighter's acrobatics rather than the death of the bull. An American style of bullfighting evolved out of the rodeo tradition, with rodeo clowns dodging bulls.
Many people see bullfighting as an unnecessarily cruel and dangerous sport. Participants are always in danger of being gored by the angry bull--especially matadors, but everyone in the ring is at some risk, and even spectators can be hurt if an angry bull goes for the stands. The bull itself suffers a slow, bloody death, and it can take many attempts by the matador before the bull is finally put out of its misery. Some towns in Spain have banned bullfighting and Spanish state television no longer broadcasts live bullfighting events, citing industry code that bans broadcast of events that might disturb children.
