A Ritual of Life and Death, the Bullfight

Debbi Morello

Freelance/ The San Diego Union-Tribune

Hemingway called it a grand passion, “The only art in which the artist is in danger of death.” Nearly 70 years after Hemingway penned those words, bullfighting remains a revered institution in many Latin countries, particularly Mexico and Spain. It is a ritual of life and death between the matador and the bull. Bullfighting is a type of dramatic ballet dance with death. Bullfighting, called a ritual because of the old established traditions and because there seems to be something spiritual about it. Before the matadors enter the ring, they pray in a chapel in the arena just outside the bullring. The bullfight seems to say something about how we face life and death. One of the basic passed of a matador with his cape is called the Veronica, it is named for the woman who held out a cloth to Christ as he was on his way to the crucifixion. In Tijuana, the “la festiva de brava”, the brave festival, takes place late on Sunday afternoons, where many come to celebrate this ritual of life and death. A Prayer for Luck, The spiritualness of the bullfight is evident throughout the festival. Before they enter the ring, the matadors pray for courage and safety in a chapel outside the bullring at the Plaza de Toreos in Tijuana, Mexico.

Debbi Morello, "A Ritual of Life and Death, the Bullfight," in POYi Archive, Item #31017, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/31017 (accessed June 17, 2025).