Tauromaquia ( Bullfight )

Bullfighting or tauromachy ( from Greek tauromachia ),Spanish toreo as in "corrida de toros" or "tauromaquia" in portuguese tourada is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal and several latin american countries.Its órigin is unknown although there are some inconclusive theories about its origin.


This building is called "Praça de Touros do Campo Pequeno",the bull ring of Lisbon built in the year 1892 and has a capacity for 9,00 people and wherein i first witness my first bullfight.Till now,it is still being used for the same porpose and other events during summer.Renovated in 2006 to add some shops and restaurant inside and around the building.

The tradition, as it is practiced today, involves professional performers (in Spanish "toreros or matadores", in Portuguese "toureiros") who execute various formal moves with the goal of appearing graceful and confident, while masterful over the bull itself. Such maneuvers are performed at close range, and conclude often with the death of the bull by a well-placed sword thrust as the finale. In Portugal the finale consists of a tradition called the pega, where men (forcados) try to hold the bull by its horns when it runs at them. Forcados are dressed in a traditional costume of damask or velvet, with long knit hats as worn by the campinos (bull headers) from Ribatejo.

Bullfighting generates heated controversy in many areas of the world, including Spain. Supporters of bullfighting argue that it is a culturally important tradition, while animal rights groups argue that it is a blood sport because of the suffering of the bull and horses during the bullfight

Potuguese style bullfight


Most Portuguese bullfights are held in two phases: the spectacle of the cavaleiro, and the pega. In the cavaleiro, a horseman on a Portuguese Lusitano horse (specially trained for the fights) fights the bull from horseback. The purpose of this fight is to stab three or four bandeirilhas (small javelins) in the back of the bull.


In the second stage, called the pega ("holding"), the forcados, a group of eight men, challenge the bull directly without any protection or weapon of defense. The front man provokes the bull into a charge to perform a pega de cara or pega de caras (face grab). The front man secures the animal's head and is quickly aided by his fellows who surround and secure the animal until he is subdued. (This part is what scares me most)

The bull is not killed in the ring and, at the end of the corrida, leading oxen are let into the arena and two campinos on foot herd the bull along them back to its pen. The bull is usually killed, away from the audience's sight, by a professional butcher. It can happen that some bulls, after an exceptional performance, are healed, released to pasture until their end days and used