Public Project
Spain, the bull and the mask
España, el Toro y la Mascarilla.
En España podemos encontrar gran diversidad de tradiciones, desde un ámbito más religioso a aquellas más populares y dependiendo del ojo que las miren, pueden llegar a ser polémicas, un tanto peculiares o incluso anticuadas, pero aquellas que parecen destacar más son las que conlle- van un riesgo.En nuestro país existe ese continuo afán por acercarse a la muerte, nos gusta. Esto podemos verlo tanto los Castellers de Cataluña con espectaculares pirámides humanas, en las Fallas de Valencia donde se incendian estructuras de más de 20 metros entre edificios residenciales, en las Jarram- plas de Piornal, una festividad en la que una persona es lapidada con nabos hasta que ésta llegue a su límite o en los famosos Sanfermines de Pamplona. Entre estos múltiples eventos, los más po- lémicos por excelencia son aquellos en los que se utiliza al toro como medio de espectáculo cau- sando finalmente su muerte de manera agónica, haciendo uso de los diferentes útiles de torear: desde la clásica corrida de toros, los rejoneos o las becerradas.Sin embargo, los Correbous, o toros en la calle, son espectáculos populares típicos de la Comuni- dad Valenciana y de las tierras del Ebro en Cataluña, en los que se sueltan, se exhiben, o se torean toros sin que el espectáculo acabe en la muerte del animal. Normalmente estos actos coinciden con fiestas mayores, ferias y celebraciones populares. En estos meses de pandemia y a causa de las cancelaciones del Covid-19, han habido numerosos pueblos de Valencia que han aprovechado el final de año de 2021 para celebrar los eventos que no pudieron realizarse el año anterior por las restricciones y de este modo ayudar a los ganaderos, que en esta situación tuvieron que vender a sus propios toros como alimento.En este reportaje conoceremos desde dentro tanto los festejos taurinos en los que el daño al ani- mal no es tan visual como todos los procesos que se producen en un festejo popular taurino en pueblos de Valencia. Concretamente nos embarcamos de lleno en la modalidad de Toro de cuerda en tiempos de Covid-19.Los ganaderos son los responsables del cuidado de los bovinos. David Alfaro es ganadero en Cheste, un pueblo situado a 26 kilómetros de Valencia.
Como casi cada día, David y su compañero llegan a la finca, esta vez en una mañana más fría y lluviosa de noviembre para preparar y llevar a los toros a Godelleta ya que en ese día estaba programado realizar el evento de toro de cuerda. Con la ayuda de solamente unas linternas buscan en plena oscuridad entre las más de cien cabezas bovinas los que para ellos serán los indicados en este día festivo. David explica cómo es de importante seleccionar de manera adecuada los toros que representarán ese día a su ganadería, ya que, en cada uno de estos eventos se demuestra la validez de sus animales. De lo contrario, si el toro no responde de la manera esperada, es decir, resistiendo a la corrida durante una hora, quedará en evidencia, lo que afecta negativamente a su reputación y orgullo como ganadero.
En este caso, la lluvia no disminuye por lo que conlleva la cancelación del festejo. Cuando las fiestas se cancelan, los ganaderos no ganan nada. David se siente agradecido ya que las peñas taurinas del pueblo le intentan compensar por las molestias del transporte este lo rechaza ya que es preferible que se vuelvan a poner en contacto con él en futuras ocasiones.Cuando ya hemos dejado a los toros en la finca y en una amena conversación, me confiesa que el 2020 ha sido un año muy duro, ya que tan solo se pudieron realizar un total de 473 festejos de bous al carrer, a diferencia de 2019 donde se realizaron 8623 solamente en la Comunidad Valen- ciana. La disminución de festejos, provocó que muchos ganaderos tuvieran que vender a los toros a los mataderos. Este hecho, disminuye las ganancias debido a que la carne de toro la venden por apenas ochenta céntimos el kilogramo. Comenta además, lo complicado y sacrificado que puede llegar a ser este oficio.Al día siguiente, y una vez la lluvia despejó, comenzaron los preparativos para el evento. Los pe- ñistas aprovechan que los toros están encerrados en el camión para colocarles la badana, una es- pecie de corona de colores vivos que se ata a la cornamenta del toro para poder sujetar la cuerda al animal, este momento es un tanto delicado y peligroso. Al estar estresado, el toro embiste el camión, chocando así sus cuernos contra las paredes, lo que ha producido más de un accidente al golpear las manos y brazos de los peñistas con el toro. Los mayores enseñan esta labor a los más jóvenes para así poder perpetuar la tradición. Este proceso se realiza una hora antes de la salida del toro aunque no dura más de treinta minutos.
A pesar de ser las 8 de la mañana de un domingo de noviembre, Godelleta está llena de jóvenes del pueblo y de los municipios colindantes. El inicio de la carrera comienza al lanzarse un petar- do al aire que señalará a los corredores que se abrirán las puertas del camión. Aquellos más atre- vidos tiran de la cuerda del toro, la cual debe de medir inicialmente más de 35 metros, y obligato- riamente deben de colocar una marca a los 14 metros del animal la cual nunca podrá ser superada. Esto es así, ya que a medida que avanza la carrera, la cuerda se va cortando, esta se va ofre- ciendo a las casas de los peñistas inscritos en los eventos como ofrenda y recuerdo. Además, de este modo se va adecuando la cantidad de corredores que sujetan la cuerda, ya que, a medida que hay menos cuerda, también hay menos corredores tirando del animal.Los mozos llevan el toro por todo el pueblo tirando de él, corriendo por delante y por detrás del animal. El objetivo es llevarlo y atarlo a las puertas de los peñistas para que estos puedan tomarse fotos con los animales. Cristian, divulgador y apasionado del toro de cuerda, critica la presencia de personas de todas las edades ya que, bajo una ficticia seguridad debido a que el toro está atado, se sienten libres de situarse al lado de este para inmortalizar el momento, pero como ya ha ocurrido en otras ocasiones, el cuerno del toro se puede desprender a causa de algún golpe y oca- sionar alguna desgracia.Este tipo de eventos participan peligrosamente personas de todas las edades, ya que los adultos quieren hacerle fotos a sus hijos con los toros y los más mayores quieren recordar como lo hacían de antaño y sentir mínimamente al menos por unos metros la adrenalina que se genera al correr delante de un animal de dichas características.Este momento se aprovecha para que el toro pueda descansar unos pocos minutos y después se vuelve a emprender la carrera hacia la nueva parada.Para las asociaciones animalistas como AnimaNaturalis el toro de cuerda es ̈probablemente, el espectáculo más atávico y también el más angustiante para el animal, al ser el que limita más sus movimientos y por más tiempo ̈, además de los golpes, caídas y en ocasiones descargas eléctricas que recibe el animal si no corre lo suficiente o se deja caer. Estas descargas las comprobamos cuando los dos toros de la ganadería Gregorio de Jesús, no cumplieron las expectativas tanto de los peñistas como de los propios ganaderos ya que no aguantaron las carreras dejándose caer por el asfalto. Esto conlleva enfado y abucheos por parte de los corredores del pueblo que recrimina- ban a los ganaderos la mala elección de los toros. Los activistas animalistas luchan por los dere- chos de los animales asistiendo a los eventos haciéndose pasar por participantes o turistas para así poder grabar imágenes que posteriormente denunciaron en redes sociales.El sector taurino ha concluido el 2021 con un buen sabor de boca. Esta es la sensación de Vicente Nogueroles, presidente de la Federación de Peñas Taurinas de la Comunidad Valenciana, quien pone sobre la mesa el ingente trabajo que se ha tenido que hacer entre administración para volver a exhibir los toros en la calle pese a la pandemia.
En el año 2021 y según los datos de la Generalidad Valenciana ningún brote se ha podido asociar a los 1.755 festejos que se han realizado durante el año. De ellos, 936 se han celebrado en la pro- vincia de Castellón, una cifra que mantiene a la provincia a la cabeza del territorio valenciano en la exhibición de festejos con el 53,3% del total.̈La pandemia no ha mermado su capacidad, ilusión y ganas de organizar bous al carrer ̈, manifes- taba Nogueroles.De todos modos, y a pesar de los buenos resultados obtenidos hasta el momento, el inicio de este 2022 se prevé complicado por la alta incidencia en la mayoría de los municipios. Ante la dificul- tad que supone controlar las aglomeraciones se han suspendido los actos hasta el final de primavera.
Spain, the Bull and the Mask.
In Spain we can find a great diversity of traditions, from the more religious to the more popular ones, and depending on the eye that looks at them, they can be controversial, somewhat peculiar or even old-fashioned, but those that seem to stand out the most are the ones that involve risk.
In our country there is a continuous eagerness to get close to death, we like it. This can be seen in the Castellers of Catalonia with spectacular human pyramids, in the Fallas of Valencia where structures of more than 20 metres are set on fire between residential buildings, in the Jarramplas of Piornal, a festival in which a person is stoned with turnips until they reach their limit, or in the famous Sanfermines of Pamplona. Among these multiple events, the most controversial par excellence are those in which the bull is used as a means of spectacle, finally causing its death in an agonising way, making use of the different tools of bullfighting: from the classic bullfight, the rejoneos or the becerradas (bullfights with bulls).
However, the Correbous, or bulls in the street, are popular spectacles typical of the Valencian Community and the lands of the Ebro in Catalonia, in which bulls are released, exhibited, or bullfighting without the spectacle ending in the death of the animal. Normally these events coincide with major festivals, fairs and popular celebrations. In these months of pandemic and due to the cancellations of Covid-19, there have been numerous towns in Valencia that have taken advantage of the end of the year 2021 to celebrate the events that could not be held the previous year due to the restrictions and in this way help the farmers, who in this situation had to sell their own bulls as food.
In this report we will get to know from the inside both the bullfighting festivities in which the damage to the animal is not so visual and all the processes that take place in a popular bullfighting festivity in the villages of Valencia. Specifically, we embark on the modality of Toro de cuerda in the time of Covid-19.
The breeders are responsible for the care of the cattle. David Alfaro is a stockbreeder in Cheste, a village located 26 kilometres from Valencia.
As almost every day, David and his partner arrive at the farm, this time on a colder and rainy November morning to prepare and take the bulls to Godelleta as the bull-roping event was scheduled to take place on that day. With the help of just a few torches they search in the dark among the more than one hundred head of cattle for the ones they think will be the right ones on this festive day. David explains how important it is to select the right bulls for the day to represent his stud farm, because the validity of his animals is proven at each of these events. Otherwise, if the bull does not respond in the expected way, i.e. by resisting the bullfight for an hour, he will be exposed, which negatively affects his reputation and pride as a breeder.
In this case, the rain does not abate so it leads to the cancellation of the fiesta. When the fiestas are cancelled, the breeders gain nothing. David is grateful that the bullfighting clubs of the village try to compensate him for the inconvenience of the transport, but he refuses as it is preferable that they contact him again on future occasions.
When we have already left the bulls at the farm and in a pleasant conversation, he confesses to me that 2020 has been a very hard year, as only 473 bous al carrer bullfights could be held, unlike 2019 where 8623 were held in the Valencian Community alone. The decrease in the number of celebrations meant that many breeders had to sell the bulls to the slaughterhouses. This fact reduces the profits because the bull meat is sold for barely eighty cents per kilogramme. He also comments on how complicated and sacrificing this profession can be.
The next day, once the rain had cleared, preparations for the event began. The peñistas take advantage of the fact that the bulls are enclosed in the lorry to place the "badana", a kind of brightly coloured crown that is tied to the bull's antlers in order to attach the rope to the animal, a delicate and dangerous moment. This is a delicate and dangerous moment. When the bull is under stress, it charges the lorry, crashing its horns against the walls, which has led to more than one accident when the hands and arms of the peñistas hit the bull. The older ones teach the younger ones this task in order to perpetuate the tradition. This process is carried out an hour before the bull's departure, although it does not last more than thirty minutes.
Despite the fact that it is 8 o'clock on a Sunday morning in November, Godelleta is full of young people from the town and surrounding municipalities. The start of the race begins when a firecracker is thrown into the air to signal to the runners that the doors of the lorry will open. The most daring runners pull on the bull's rope, which must initially measure more than 35 metres, and they are obliged to place a mark at 14 metres from the animal, which can never be surpassed. This is because, as the race progresses, the rope is cut and is offered to the houses of the participants in the events as an offering and souvenir. Moreover, in this way, the number of runners holding the rope is reduced, since, as there is less rope, there are also fewer runners pulling the animal.
The runners carry the bull around the village pulling it, running in front of and behind the animal. The aim is to take it and tie it up at the doors of the peñistas so that they can take photos with the animals. Cristian, a populariser and enthusiast of the bull on a rope, criticises the presence of people of all ages because, under a fictitious security because the bull is tied up, they feel free to stand next to it to immortalise the moment, but as has already happened on other occasions, the horn of the bull can come off due to a blow and cause some misfortune.
People of all ages participate dangerously in this type of event, as the adults want to take photos of their children with the bulls and the older ones want to remember how they used to do it in the old days and feel, at least for a few metres, the adrenaline that is generated by running in front of such an animal.
This moment is used as an opportunity for the bull to rest for a few minutes and then the run is resumed towards the next stop.
For animal associations such as AnimaNaturalis, the bull on a rope is ¨probably the most atavistic spectacle and also the most distressing for the animal, as it is the one that limits its movements the most and for the longest period of time¨, as well as the blows, falls and sometimes electric shocks that the animal receives if it does not run fast enough or if it lets itself fall. We saw these shocks when the two bulls from the Gregorio de Jesús bull-breed did not meet the expectations of both the supporters and the bull-breeders themselves, as they did not stand up to the running of the bulls and fell on the asphalt. This led to anger and booing on the part of the runners in the village who reproached the breeders for the poor choice of bulls. Animal activists fight for animal rights by attending the events posing as participants or tourists in order to record images which they later denounced on social networks.
The bullfighting sector has ended 2021 with a good taste in its mouth. This is the feeling of Vicente Nogueroles, president of the Federación de Peñas Taurinas de la Comunidad Valenciana (Federation of Bullfighting Supporters' Clubs of the Valencian Community), who highlights the enormous amount of work that has had to be done by the administration to bring bullfighting back to the streets despite the pandemic.
In the year 2021 and according to the data of the Generalitat Valenciana, no outbreak has been associated with the 1,755 celebrations that have taken place during the year. Of these, 936 have been held in the province of Castellón, a figure that keeps the province at the head of the Valencian territory in the exhibition of festivities with 53.3% of the total.
The pandemic has not diminished their capacity, enthusiasm and desire to organise bous al carrer¨, said Nogueroles.
In any case, and despite the good results obtained so far, the beginning of 2022 is expected to be complicated due to the high incidence in most municipalities. Given the difficulty of controlling the crowds, the events have been suspended until the end of spring.
In Spain we can find a great diversity of traditions, from the more religious to the more popular ones, and depending on the eye that looks at them, they can be controversial, somewhat peculiar or even old-fashioned, but those that seem to stand out the most are the ones that involve risk.
In our country there is a continuous eagerness to get close to death, we like it. This can be seen in the Castellers of Catalonia with spectacular human pyramids, in the Fallas of Valencia where structures of more than 20 metres are set on fire between residential buildings, in the Jarramplas of Piornal, a festival in which a person is stoned with turnips until they reach their limit, or in the famous Sanfermines of Pamplona. Among these multiple events, the most controversial par excellence are those in which the bull is used as a means of spectacle, finally causing its death in an agonising way, making use of the different tools of bullfighting: from the classic bullfight, the rejoneos or the becerradas (bullfights with bulls).
However, the Correbous, or bulls in the street, are popular spectacles typical of the Valencian Community and the lands of the Ebro in Catalonia, in which bulls are released, exhibited, or bullfighting without the spectacle ending in the death of the animal. Normally these events coincide with major festivals, fairs and popular celebrations. In these months of pandemic and due to the cancellations of Covid-19, there have been numerous towns in Valencia that have taken advantage of the end of the year 2021 to celebrate the events that could not be held the previous year due to the restrictions and in this way help the farmers, who in this situation had to sell their own bulls as food.
In this report we will get to know from the inside both the bullfighting festivities in which the damage to the animal is not so visual and all the processes that take place in a popular bullfighting festivity in the villages of Valencia. Specifically, we embark on the modality of Toro de cuerda in the time of Covid-19.
The breeders are responsible for the care of the cattle. David Alfaro is a stockbreeder in Cheste, a village located 26 kilometres from Valencia.
As almost every day, David and his partner arrive at the farm, this time on a colder and rainy November morning to prepare and take the bulls to Godelleta as the bull-roping event was scheduled to take place on that day. With the help of just a few torches they search in the dark among the more than one hundred head of cattle for the ones they think will be the right ones on this festive day. David explains how important it is to select the right bulls for the day to represent his stud farm, because the validity of his animals is proven at each of these events. Otherwise, if the bull does not respond in the expected way, i.e. by resisting the bullfight for an hour, he will be exposed, which negatively affects his reputation and pride as a breeder.
In this case, the rain does not abate so it leads to the cancellation of the fiesta. When the fiestas are cancelled, the breeders gain nothing. David is grateful that the bullfighting clubs of the village try to compensate him for the inconvenience of the transport, but he refuses as it is preferable that they contact him again on future occasions.
When we have already left the bulls at the farm and in a pleasant conversation, he confesses to me that 2020 has been a very hard year, as only 473 bous al carrer bullfights could be held, unlike 2019 where 8623 were held in the Valencian Community alone. The decrease in the number of celebrations meant that many breeders had to sell the bulls to the slaughterhouses. This fact reduces the profits because the bull meat is sold for barely eighty cents per kilogramme. He also comments on how complicated and sacrificing this profession can be.
The next day, once the rain had cleared, preparations for the event began. The peñistas take advantage of the fact that the bulls are enclosed in the lorry to place the "badana", a kind of brightly coloured crown that is tied to the bull's antlers in order to attach the rope to the animal, a delicate and dangerous moment. This is a delicate and dangerous moment. When the bull is under stress, it charges the lorry, crashing its horns against the walls, which has led to more than one accident when the hands and arms of the peñistas hit the bull. The older ones teach the younger ones this task in order to perpetuate the tradition. This process is carried out an hour before the bull's departure, although it does not last more than thirty minutes.
Despite the fact that it is 8 o'clock on a Sunday morning in November, Godelleta is full of young people from the town and surrounding municipalities. The start of the race begins when a firecracker is thrown into the air to signal to the runners that the doors of the lorry will open. The most daring runners pull on the bull's rope, which must initially measure more than 35 metres, and they are obliged to place a mark at 14 metres from the animal, which can never be surpassed. This is because, as the race progresses, the rope is cut and is offered to the houses of the participants in the events as an offering and souvenir. Moreover, in this way, the number of runners holding the rope is reduced, since, as there is less rope, there are also fewer runners pulling the animal.
The runners carry the bull around the village pulling it, running in front of and behind the animal. The aim is to take it and tie it up at the doors of the peñistas so that they can take photos with the animals. Cristian, a populariser and enthusiast of the bull on a rope, criticises the presence of people of all ages because, under a fictitious security because the bull is tied up, they feel free to stand next to it to immortalise the moment, but as has already happened on other occasions, the horn of the bull can come off due to a blow and cause some misfortune.
People of all ages participate dangerously in this type of event, as the adults want to take photos of their children with the bulls and the older ones want to remember how they used to do it in the old days and feel, at least for a few metres, the adrenaline that is generated by running in front of such an animal.
This moment is used as an opportunity for the bull to rest for a few minutes and then the run is resumed towards the next stop.
For animal associations such as AnimaNaturalis, the bull on a rope is ¨probably the most atavistic spectacle and also the most distressing for the animal, as it is the one that limits its movements the most and for the longest period of time¨, as well as the blows, falls and sometimes electric shocks that the animal receives if it does not run fast enough or if it lets itself fall. We saw these shocks when the two bulls from the Gregorio de Jesús bull-breed did not meet the expectations of both the supporters and the bull-breeders themselves, as they did not stand up to the running of the bulls and fell on the asphalt. This led to anger and booing on the part of the runners in the village who reproached the breeders for the poor choice of bulls. Animal activists fight for animal rights by attending the events posing as participants or tourists in order to record images which they later denounced on social networks.
The bullfighting sector has ended 2021 with a good taste in its mouth. This is the feeling of Vicente Nogueroles, president of the Federación de Peñas Taurinas de la Comunidad Valenciana (Federation of Bullfighting Supporters' Clubs of the Valencian Community), who highlights the enormous amount of work that has had to be done by the administration to bring bullfighting back to the streets despite the pandemic.
In the year 2021 and according to the data of the Generalitat Valenciana, no outbreak has been associated with the 1,755 celebrations that have taken place during the year. Of these, 936 have been held in the province of Castellón, a figure that keeps the province at the head of the Valencian territory in the exhibition of festivities with 53.3% of the total.
The pandemic has not diminished their capacity, enthusiasm and desire to organise bous al carrer¨, said Nogueroles.
In any case, and despite the good results obtained so far, the beginning of 2022 is expected to be complicated due to the high incidence in most municipalities. Given the difficulty of controlling the crowds, the events have been suspended until the end of spring.
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