Replacing hockey with bull fights

Unfortunately I’m not able to go to hockey games in Peru since the sport doesn’t exist down here. The good news, though, is that they have a possible replacement. Bull fights!

I should use the word “fights” with caution, though, since there isn’t always a lot of fighting going on. I’ve had the luck, or maybe opportunity would be a more appropriate word, to see a couple varieties of these events. If you read my first couple blog posts you might remember me talking about toros locos (crazy bulls), bull costumes covered in fireworks (and incidentally still pending approval from the fire marshal) that are often part of Peruvian parties. Well, my understanding is that all of this is part of the Spanish culture that came over from Europe. The difference with my latest experience is that the toros were real live bulls (fortunately not covered in fireworks) although the human participants remained the same: drunk, partying Peruvians.

Huallanca's very own bull fighting stadium (that's really all its used for).

In Huallanca I went to a corrido (I think it would be easier if you just read the story I’m writing here instead of me trying to define the word) with my brother Mauricio.

Me and Mauri with clowns and crazy people in the background.

They let a series of different bulls into the ring. At first it was just the clowns out there with the bulls, but eventually some spectators got drunk enough to participate as well.

The clowns set up a teeter tooter and went up and down as the bull chased them around (and underneath).

They also “accidentally” let some bulls into the corridor that runs around the outside of the ring so everyone freaked out and jumped around, but after a little while we got bored and all went home.

Before leaving we ran into Kendra with some of her family.

A few weeks later, there was a real bull fight for the anniversary in a neighboring town, Chiquian, where another volunteer lives. I went over with some of Kendra’s family for the afternoon.

Chiquian’s stadium is a more makeshift than Huallanca’s, but it still has a nice view of the mountains.

We were packed in like sardines.

I say “real” because in addition to everything that Huallanca had in Chiquian there was also a bull fighter, fully equipped with his sword to kill the bull. Yup, that’s right. He “won” the bull fight and killed the bull at the end, although I feel like the bull probably didn’t have much of a chance.

Run, bull! He’s actually hiding a sword behind that inviting red cloth!

In a way it was a little disturbing watching him repeatedly jab the bull with his sword until it successively couldn’t run, couldn’t walk, couldn’t stand and eventually couldn’t stay alive. Then they dragged it off.  (Sorry, not trying to be a downer, but, heck, that’s life, right? Or death…I guess. Maybe I should stop before I offend any more people).

The crowd stormed the court, tore down the goalposts and then dragged the dead bull out.

Unfortunately as soon as I got addicted to seeing drunks get rammed by bulls I found out that they only have these a couple times a year. So now I spend all my time not just missing hockey but also missing corridos!