Behind the scenes at a Madrid bullfighting arena

By Anja Hartwig Sep 21, 2010, 13:24 GMT

Madrid - A red cape, swirling dust clouds and a tattoo of hooves. These are the essential features of any bullfight in Spain. A bullring, however, has a lot more to offer the visitor, as a tour around the Las Ventas arena in Madrid reveals.

Below the stands a high vaulted corridor leads around the ring of sand. Behind one of the doors is an emergency clinic, two operating rooms staffed with a total of eight doctors and a dormitory with eight beds. The facility is designed to ensure that any injuries sustained during the bullfighting spectacle can be swiftly attended to.

A recent patient here was well-known matador Julio Aparacio. He underwent an emergency operation at Las Ventas last May after cheating death by just a few millimetres. He was gored through the chin by the bull he was taunting.

'Fortunately something like that does not happen very often,' said Javier Bajo who works for the firm of Taurodelta which operates the arena. 'No matador has been killed here for a very long time.'

Usually it is the spectators who have to be treated here and not the toreros. 'There is capacity here for a crowd of 24,000 people and it is not uncommon for someone to feel dizzy or faint. Las Ventas is the world's second-largest bullfighting venue in the world behind an arena in Venezuela.

The sign on another door reads 'Toreros Chamber.' From this room the matadors can avoid the glare of the onlookers and marshall their thoughts in peace before going out to face the bull. Another place of contemplation is the chapel where the devotional items on the altar include a picture of the Virgin of La Paloma, a patron saint of the city.

At the foot of the altar are three cushions on which the torero can rest his knees before stepping into the limelight. 'For most of the bullfighters going to the chapel is a ritual which has to be observed,' said Bajo. 'Naturally they ask the virgin to watch over them during the fight.'

Among the 400 staff at Las Ventas are 15 veterinary surgeons. In preparation for the fight on a Sunday the 500-kilogram animals are brought to the stables on a Thursday and put through a series of tests to assess the speed of their reactions.

The torero, who usually arrives at Las Ventas just 30 minutes before the show kicks off, sees his adversary for the first time in the ring. The bullfighters traditionally draw lots to decide which one of them faces which respective four-legged opponent.

When members of the royal family attend they occupy a box which is off-limits to the rest of the spectators. In a room close by, King Juan Carlos has the opportunity to exchange a few words with the torero and his relatives. The monarch and his eldest daughter Elena are fans of the 'Corrida,' whereas Queen Sofia and Crown Prince Felipe have made it plain that they dislike the violent sport.

The regular seats overlooking the ring are the preserve of mainly older Spaniards who pay between 2 and 150 euros (2.60 and 195 dollars) for their privilege of attending. The prices vary depending on the view or whether the seats are shady or exposed to the sunlight.

'A lot of foreigners come here as well,' said Bajo. 'Most of them just want to be able to say that they have seen a bullfight and they never come back. I've known people to stand up and go as soon as the first blood is spilled.'

Despite the tourist interest a large number of seats on the terraces remain empty. At the weekly fights only between 25 and 30 per cent of the places are occupied. 'Young people are more interested in football these days,' said the spokesman.

Not that he sees the arena as being in any way endangered by the dwindling interest or a recent ban on the sport in Catalonia. 'Bullfighting belongs to Spain and that will always be the case. We just have to get more people interested in this tradition.'