Bullfight Madrid

Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 March 2011 17:56 Written by Carlos Galvin Friday, 18 March 2011 10:59

Bullfighting in Spain dates back to 711 A.D. when the first bullfight took place to celebrate the crowning of King Alfonso VIII. Originally it was a sport for the aristocracy done on horseback but King Felipe V later banned their participation. After the ban commoners, adopted the sport as their own and, since they couldn’t afford horses, the practice started of dodging the bulls on foot. This transformation occurred around 1720. To read a more detailed history of bullfighting you can click on this link to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting)

Bullfighting supporters claim that is an important cultural tradition and an art form. It has also influenced all the other arts: music, dance, poetry, literature, painting and sculpture. Bullfighting is very much a part of Spanish life and, no matter how big or small the town, there is always a bullfight during the local festivals and saint’s day.  On the other hand, animal rights advocates say that it is a blood sport where the bulls and horses suffer. Despite the controversy thousands of Spaniards flock to their local bull-ring each week.

Madrid and its Plaza de Toros – Las Ventas which was built in 1929 is considered by most to be the most important bullring in the world and seats almost 25,000. The season starts in March and ends in October. The most important bullfighting festival in Madrid takes place during the festivities of San Isidro (Madrid’s patron saint) from mid may to early June. Bullfights at Las Ventas take placer every Sunday and public holiday throughout the season.  Madrid attracts the real “aficionados” from around the world and it is considered to be the hardest bullring in which to succeed for the bullfighters.  There is also an important museum at Las Ventas on the history of bullfighting.

From the traveler standpoint, seeing a bullfight is a must in order to form your own opinion. Before you purchase tickets to see a fight in Madrid, bare in mind that seats exposed to the sun (Sol)- can be extremely hot in the summer months.  Of course, seats in the shade (sombra) tend to be more expensive.

If you are interested in attending a bullfight, you can buy bullfight tickets here.

For travellers to get a real flavour of how important bullfighting is to the culture of Spain, they may want to visit some of the local bars that are covered in memorabilia decdicated to bullfighting:  Some of the most popular establishments we recommend are:  “Taberna Antonio Sanchez” (C/ Mesón de Paredes, 13), “La Torre del Oro ” (Plaza Mayor, 26), “Casa Alberto” (calle Huertas,18) and “La Taurina” (Carrera San Jerónimo, 5)