Blog #4

Los Toros

I want to start by telling a very famous Cherokee proverb. There are two wolves inside us all. One of them has good characteristics such as: love, compassion, forgiveness, peace, etc. The other one consists of jealousy, hate, anger, greed, etc. The proverb says that the wolf that wins is the one you feed. Keep in mind that the Cherokee people, and most indigenous people, thank the animals they kill for its sacrifice without torturing it. With that being said, it took me a while to comprehend European traditions...traditions such as bullfighting, that have been given to places Spain has influenced, like Mexico. There are two ways of looking at this tradition. It could be honorable, or it could be an atrocity. It looks bad how well the bulls are trained to go after the red cape and not the man holding it. They stand still unless the cape is being held up at them. Sometimes a bull is surrounded by 5 bull “fighters”. This is not really a fight. Maybe, they should call this tradition something else. Not only do they get tired by charging at the cape numerous times, but they get stabbed in the back (literally and figuratively) until they are too weary to stand. After they are no longer standing, they are stabbed repeatedly in the head until they die and are drug out of the stadium by horses while the crowd cheers. However, that means the bull won the “fight”. If the bull were to “lose” by getting it’s ear and tail cut off, it would be allowed to live. I cheered for the bull several times and was told not to by another spectator. Some might say a “bullfight” is honorable. How is it honorable if you always want the bull to lose?

I must say, when the band started to play while the bull was charging at the cape, it looked like the bull was having his last dance with the “bullfighter.” I had much respect and honor for the bull. That dance showed off all of the strength the bull had before it died. Ultimately, the bulls are food. The Cherokee believe that in order to cause the least amount of harm, the strength of the animal should be understood and not demonstrated. Here are a few interesting pictures for you to decide how you feel about Los Toros. What an awesome experience!!