Bull Fights-Costa Rican Style

A bull fight is called a corrido in Spanish. In corridos in Spain and Mexico and other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, the bullfight is a highly stylized drama that pits the strength of the bull against the skill of the matador. Matador literally means killer.

It is normally common that bull is killed by the end of the bullfight. There are men on horses with spears and the matador himself has a sword to deliver the final blow. It is common for people to get injured or die in bullfights because to the danger of the very large animal with horns and hooves.

Last night I went to a fiesta in the barrio of Los Angeles where they had a corrido. I haven´t said this about many things in Costa Rica, but it was pathetic. The bulls had no horns. There was no matador with silk stockings and a sequined bolero outfit. Instead, there were teenage boys and men in dirty t-shirts and tennis shoes, who were paying to get in the ring to run away from the bull. So there were about 20 people paying to play keep-away from a bull without horns. The bull looked annoyed and scared, and was not very angry.

Now, after awhile the cowboys would come out and on their horses and lasso the bull and take him back to the pen. They were good at what they did and even did some tricks with the rope. Cowboys in Costa Rica are called Sabaneros and not Vaqueros, which is the more common word used in Mexico. The word Caballero literally means "horseman", it was the word used to describe knights in the middle ages. It is used now to refer to a gentleman, or someone who is very polite, such as, "él es muy caballero.",("he is very polite"). Language lesson aside, there were also some bull riders who were very good and interesting to watch, but the corrido really left a bad taste in my mouth.

One of the more interesting things about Costa Rican bull fighting is that they are not allowed to kill the bull. There are very strict laws here that say that you cannot kill an animal for sport, and that you must have a good reason, such as the animal is a danger to others or you are going to have a barbeque.

I have mixed feelings about corridos. The bulls are going to die anyway, so its good to see them get a chance to take revenge. I also think that too many people think that meat comes from some mysterious place already wrapped in plastic. People rarely think about how violence is still a part of the food we eat every day. On the other hand, the corrido is hardly a humane kill.

I think the Costa Rican corrido is an example of the struggle between machismo that is inherant in Latino culture and Costa Rica´s determination to be a progressive country that respects all life. You can´t have it both ways. You can´t be old-school macho and still be educated and progressive.

Something has to suffer...

Juanito

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