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"Quito Quito de me vida,
Yo te canto con amor...."
Yesterday I went to the bullfight. Monika lent me a sombrero and get this... crocodile skin boots! Well, if you´re going to see 6 bulls get it in the spinal cord after a guinea pig sandwich there´s no time to have animal rights issues. As Bill HIcks said, "you´re already on the dark side. There´s no need to get coy!" In any case, I think they were fake. But they are the sexiest pair of shoes I have ever worn and I am going to hijack them!
But I digress. Back to the point. Mine and Monika´s ticket hustling (based on the fact that I don´t look like a gringo, provided I keep my mouth shut) went fine and we got in on a blisteringly hot day. We spoke to a very nice lady from Otavalo who comes to Quito for the bulls every year and then we all had to stand and take our hats off for the Quito song.
Then all the horses and bullfighters in their finery came out, all very glittery and brightly dressed. The horses are blindfolded so they can´t see the bull and get scared. With reason. The first theing each bull did was go for the horse and nearly knock it over. Until I realized there was metal under what the horses were wearing, I was pretty terrified. Monika and Ruth found this absolutely hilarious.
So... don´t know how much everyone knows about bullfights but the bull came out and everyone goes "ooooh!" if it´s a good bull. They all looked fine to me but what do I know? Then the bullfighters on the ground warm it up a bit for the main bullfighter. Their photos are all over town on the buses and billboards, like actors! And like actors, they have groupies and everything.
Then the guy on the horse stabs the bull in the back- no wonder the bull takes it out on the horse. The matador comes in and shows everyone his sticks that he´s about the stick in the bull´s back. And then he skips over and does that and has to run off very, very quickly and normally jump over the wall to escape.
Another Bull Hicks ref for anyone that cares : it´s a bit like the hooligans joke the way they flee in their little outfits and pink tights....
Quite amazing though, they look and move like dancers. They have to! Then the red cape comes out and they play with that for a while, sometimes getting on their knees in front of it and then running off and doing a little nochalent strut after.... then they stab it in the back. I´ts supposed to kill them quickly but that was only the case with one of them. The rest had to have a man in a brown suit come to finish them off. One matador took four times to get it right... and still couldn´t. That was pretty horrible. And finally the horses drag the bull off.
I´m not saying it for he sake of controversy but I did enjoy the day. I certainly don´t feel the need to do it again, but there´s a lot of ritual and ceremony involved and you do spend the whole time with your stomach muscles clenched and with your heart beating at double the speed. There´s some kind of adrenaline rush to it and certainly skill involved. Also, Quiteños are very proud of the tradition so it´s hard to deny them that. And the atmosphere is great, everyone is into it and up for a party.
Saw a different side to lovely, sweet Monika and Ruth. They are actually bloodthirsty harridans! It was great having them there to explain it all and laugh at the gringo´s squeemishness. EspeciallyRuth. Ladylike grandma my arse... Then Monka got to speak to one of the matadors and was like a lovestruck teenager the rest of the day, ahhhh.
A cute end to a pretty violent day!
Nadia xx
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