An end of an Era?

Spain moves to ban bullfights.

Ten years into the 21st century, it seems extraordinary that a phenomenon like this still has a place at the cultural heart of a modern European nation. There is no underestimating the staying power of a spectacle that some would say forms part of the Spanish national DNA. Yet even in this most tradition-addicted society, the tectonic plates of custom are gradually shifting, and public opinion over the corrida de toros is polarised as never before. On one hand, the Spanish anti-bullfight movement, virtually non-existent 20 years ago, has made huge inroads into a society for whom the notion of animal rights was until recently a puzzlingly alien concept. A proposal is currently going through the Catalan parliament which, if and when it is finally approved this summer, will abolish the corrida once and for all in the region. On the other hand, the news value of the corrida has taken a surprising leap in the past decade, thanks mainly to matador José Tomás – front-page news across the world when he was nearly gored to death in Mexico in April, requiring 17 pints of blood after a bull called Navegante ripped a 15cm hole in his thigh. Not for decades has a matador captured the imagination of bullfight fans like this enigmatic and reclusive man, acclaimed as the saviour of bullfighting for the new dose of glamour he has brought to this most controversial and, some say, anachronistic of sports.