The Bulls, the bullfighters and their world

It is not a sport; it is the confrontation between Man and his intelligence and sensitivity, against the Animal and its bestiality, with the purpose of creating Art. As it may not be easy to comprehend at first, this book endeavors to explain its world, its behind-the-scenes and its protagonists, who share their experiences, feelings and motivations with the reader. Based on interviews with everyone from the top brave bull-breeders and matadors to their assistants, managers, impresarios, tailors, surgeons, bullring employees, journalists and aficionados, it aspires to offer an in-depth, sensitive portrait of the Corrida, both for the seasoned bullfight fans as well as for the curious but uninitiated readers.

The author is a native New Yorker, who moved to Spain in the early seventies to obtain her Masters and “follow the bulls”, and eventually ended up marrying a matador. Feiner founded the “Club Internacional Taurino” in Madrid, because at that time women were not admitted into the exclusive all-male societies of aficionados. An active journalist and photographer, she has published over a dozen books on Spain and received many distinctions, including the prestigious Taurine Merit Award from the Spanish Parliament Association.

The “Corrida de Toros”, the Bullfight, is an extraordinary centuries-old Spanish tradition which may be difficult to comprehend at first. The English term “Bullfight” is misleading. It is not a sport, but a confrontation between Man and his intelligence and sensitivity, against the Animal and its bestiality, with the purpose of creating Art.

The proof of its artistic concept lies in the fact that it has influenced all the other arts: Painting, Sculpture, Literature, Poetry, Music, Dance; and has served as a source of inspiration for so many great world-renown writers and artists, such as Federico García Lorca, Manuel Machado, José Ortega y Gasset, Rafael Alberti, Camilo José Cela, Ernest Hemingway, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel García Marquez, Orson Welles, Francisco de Goya, Eugenio Lucas, Joaquín Sorolla, Ignacio Zuloaga, Roberto Domingo, Edouard Manet, Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí, Fernando Botero, Mariano Benlliure, Humberto Peraza, Georges Bizet with his opera "Carmen", all the modern flamenco dance troupes, and a long etcetera. In fact, it has often been referred to as “A Ballet with Death.” It is a complex and ephemeral art. Whereas Velazquez’s “Las Meninas" or Goya’s “Majas” can be contemplated at any time in Madrid’s Prado Museum, the torero’s work of art, the “Faena”, occurs in one specific moment in the plaza and it is also clearly the only art in which the artist can lose his life.

“The Bulls, the Bullfighters and their World” aims at creating a greater understanding of the true essence of the Corrida and fomenting a more widespread acceptance of the Fiesta through the personal testimonies of its protagonists. From the most popular matadors and bull-breeders to the “arenero” (sand-sweeper) or muleteer, their personal accounts help us to explore the roots, the orchestration, the evolution and the celebration of this “three-act drama” presented on an exceptional stage: the Bullring.

This book is intended for the already seasoned aficionados, to enhance their personal knowledge of the spectacle, and also for the uninitiated and curious readers who wish to comprehend an indeed unique spectacle of undeniable pageantry, dramatic excitement and splendour. It explains the reason why this extraordinary Spanish art and tradition has been conserved until the present day.

Of course, the bullfight almost always involves the sacrifice of the “toro bravo”, a very special breed of brave animal which lives in the idyllical and ecological setting of the ranch until it is five years old, when it comes time to transport it to the arena. Were this not the case, it would be sent to the slaughterhouse when it is just ten months old. Furthermore, being a wild, dangerous species, it is very difficult to raise and these animals have only managed to survive to the present day for the purposes of the spectacle. If Bullfighting did not exist this amazing animal would have become extinct long ago.

The “Fiesta Brava” is a very important part of Spanish history and culture. Eminent philosopher José Ortega y Gasset stated: “It is impossible to understand Spain, its history and its culture, without understanding the bullfight.” The prodigious Federico García Lorca said: “Bullfighting is indeed the greatest poetic and spiritual wealth Spain has to offer.” And famous American actress Sharon Stone declared on Spanish television, on the program of a very ardent anti-bullfight crusader: “I love Bullfighting because it is an art, and it is the poetry of Spain.