Bullfighting

Bullfighting (Spanish: corrida de toros or toreo ; Portuguese: tourada ), also known as tauromachia or tauromachy (Spanish: tauromaquia listen, Portuguese: tauromaquia; from Greek: ταυρομαχία "bull-fight"), is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Hispanic American countries (Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru) and the Philippines, in which one or more bulls are baited, and then killed in a bullring for sport and entertainment. As such, it is often called a blood sport by its detractors, but followers of the spectacle regard it as a 'fine art' and not a sport, as there are no elements of competition in the proceedings. In Portugal, it is illegal to kill a bull in the arena, so it is removed, treated and released into its owners' (ganadero) fields.

The tradition, as it is practiced today, involves professional toreros (also called matadors) who execute various formal moves which can be interpreted and innovated according to the bullfighter's style or school. Toreros seek to elicit inspiration and art from their work and an emotional connection with the crowd transmitted through the bull. Such maneuvers are performed at close range, which places the bullfighter at risk of being gored or trampled. After the bull has been hooked multiple times behind the shoulder by other matadors in the arena, the bullfight usually concludes with the killing of the bull by a single sword thrust, which is called the estocada. In Portugal, the finale consists of a tradition called the pega, where men (forcados) try to grab and hold the bull by its horns when it runs at them.

Supporters of bullfighting argue that it is a culturally important tradition and a fully developed art form on par with painting, dancing and music, while animal rights advocates hold that it is a blood sport resulting in the suffering of bulls and horses.

There are many historic fighting venues in the Iberian Peninsula, France and Hispanic America. The largest venue of its kind is the Plaza México in central Mexico City, which seats 48,000 people, and the oldest is the La Maestranza in Seville, Spain, which was first used for bullfighting in 1765.

Forms of non-lethal bullfighting also appear outside the Iberian and Francophone world, including the Tamil Nadu practise of jallikattu; and the Portuguese-influenced mchezo wa ngombe is also practiced on the Tanzanian islands of Pemba and Zanzibar. Types of bullfighting which involve bulls fighting other bulls, rather than humans, are found in the Balkans, Turkey, the Persian Gulf, Japan, Peru and Korea. In many parts of the Western United States, various rodeo events like calf roping and bull riding were influenced by the Spanish bullfighting.