The bullfights don't take place all year around but only in January and February which not so coincidentally corresponds to high tourist season. In the case of Acapulco, bullfighting is more of a tourist attraction than a cultural event of great interest to the Acapulqueños. Oh, bullfighting used to be a big event in Acapulco, however that was a bygone era before DVD players and camera phones made their appearance.

The plaza is a nice place and looks especially exotic with tropical palms and lush green trees on the horizon. These photos were taken at the bullfight that took place on February 27th, 2005.



The bullfight begins with the brave matadors, about 10 of them, making their way into the center of the ring and taking a bow. Decked out in the height of matador fashion, one can hear a collective wow from the ladies in the audience. I have to say the matadors do look pretty dashing there in the ring. I'm not sure how well the matador thing would work at Palladium though. At this point the mainly gringo audience is brimming with excitement and two live brass bands located high in the stands kick into the bullfight music horns blazing as the first bull makes his way into the ring, snarling and charging at everything in site. A great cheer rises from the crowd. This is about the time that mood begins to change. As the bull makes a charge at the matador, he takes two small colorful small spears and plunges them into bull's back above his neck. At this point blood starts gushing out of the wounds and down his sides. The smiling cheering faces of the tourists are now stiff with shock and horror. This isn't what happened in bullfights in Lonely Tunes.



The ensuing minutes bring more daggers and more blood. If the matador gets into a spot of trouble, the other matadors rush in to distract the bull until he can get away. By now blood and gore are streaming down the bull's back and he's getting slow. At this point, the matador moves in to give the crowd it's show. Using the cape and dancing around the dizzy bull with ease to shouts of ¡Olé!, sticking a sword into the bull's back. Finally the bull gets weak kneed and sort of sits down. At this point the matador plunges the final dagger into the back of his neck and he dies slowly convulsing, blood everywhere before his carcass is unceremoniously dragged out of the ring by a team of horses. If it wasn't for the music, one could have heard a pin drop. I honestly haven't seen so many shocked faces since 9/11. No rodeo clowns, no half time show, just three more rounds, dozens upon dozens more stab wounds, and three more dead bulls. After the initial shock of the first bull wore off, I could see some of the crowd getting more into the experience and by the fourth bull, even shouting ¡Olé! themselves. I found it an interesting experience. My girlfriend didn't find it nearly so interesting and started to cry. I tried to lighten her mood by explaining that if it weren't for the ill-tempered disposition of the bulls, there would be no bullfights. After all when was the last time you saw a turtle fight? Didn't really work though she did sort of let out a giggle when the bull gave hotshot matador #4 a good toss and he went flying high into the air before landing on his ass and making a quick departure.



The Corrida de Torros (a.k.a. La Fiesta Brava) is held at the Plaza de Torros in the Caletilla area of Traditional Acapulco. Cost ranges from $35 to $15 depending upon how close the seats are and whether they're on the shady side of the ring. There is so much space though that once inside you're pretty much free to move around wherever you want.