Vacation in Spain
by Jason Allen
Me inside the bull ring
In 2001, I lived in Valladolid, the major city next to Peñafiel and consequently the former capital of Spain before it was moved to Madrid. During that time I was a professor of English and Spanish at La Universidad de Valladolid.
I returned to the region in August 2007 to join in the celebrations of the small town. Celebrations in Spain differ and this small town's main attraction was their bullfights and "encierro." The "encierro" is what people know as the "running of the
bulls." Although not much running happened for me, I did get involved in one
of the most dangerous aspects of the bullfights. Each town has a particular
tradition, and in this town, the tradition is that after the bullfight, the
public is allowed to enter the ring and try to do "cortes" with the bull. A
"corte" is when a person runs to attract the bull and when the bull runs
after them, the person stops as the bull runs by. During this time I would
be in the bullring with the bull, although I never tried to do a corte as I
have no training. Yet, the dangerous part about this festival is that
although one can be inside the ring with the bull, at no certain point, they
release another bull outside the ring. Therefore, if you are in the area,
you have to be vigilant of both bulls. In essence, you are constantly
jumping in and out of the ring to avoid them. I did this for four days in a
row and although I did not get hurt, many people right in front of me got
seriously injured. The photos I have included show me sitting on top of the
wall to avoid both bulls while the other shows me inside the ring with the
bull in the background. It was nerve-racking, but incredibly fun for me. For
some, let's just say I don't think they will do it again.
My vacation in spain was a great experience for me....
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