"Bullfighting," said one matador, "is a pile of riches guarded by a pair of very sharp horns."
Wealth is one of the main reasons nimble-footed matadors enter a ring to fight specially-trained bulls weighing up to 1000 pounds.
Top matadors, who are judged by their skill and the danger to which they expose themselves, can earn tens of thousands of dollars in an afternoon.
The sport is popular in Spain, where it was invented, and in Portugal and Latin America. But because it involves baiting and injuring the bull before it is killed, many people object that it is cruel, so it is illegal in the United States.
Modern bullfighting dates from the 1700s, when the first permanent ring was built in Spain and the major fighting breeds were developed. Now there are more than 400 bullrings in Spain.
The fight begins as the bull enters the ring. The matador's assistants wave a cape and observe how he reacts. Then two picadors enter on horses and stab the bull in the back of the neck with lances. Then banderillos enter and each put three barbed darts in the back of the bull's neck. These stabs weaken the bull's neck muscles and force its head down so it can be killed in the proper fashion.
Finally, the matador, carrying a red cape and sword, enters the ring dressed in his twinkling "suit of lights."
After making several dangerous passes with the bull, he finally kills the bull by a single thrust of his sword through the shoulder blades. If he does it right the bull dies instantly.
If the matador does a good job, the crowd yells "Olé" and the judges award him one of the bull's ears. If he does an excellent job he is given two ears, and on very rare occasions, he is awarded two ears and a tail.
As may be imagined, bullfighting is dangerous not only for the bull. Of 125 major matadors since the 1700s, more than 40 have been killed in the ring.
