.jpg)
.jpg)
Abullring is anarena wherebullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with theIberian Peninsula, but they can also be found throughIberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are often historic and culturally significant centres that bear many structural similarities to theRomanamphitheatre.
The classic bullring is an enclosed, roughly circular amphitheatre with tiered rows of stands that surround an open central space. The open space forms the arena orruedo, a field of densely packed crushed rock (albero) that is the stage for the bullfight. Also on the ground level, the central arena is surrounded by a staging area where the bullfighters prepare and take refuge, called thecallejón (alley). Thecallejón is separated from the arena by a wall or other structure, usually made of wood and roughly 140 cm high. The partition wall has doors for the entrance and exit of the bull (puerta de los toriles) and human participants (puerta de cuadrilla), although the form, number, and placement of these doors will vary from one bullring to another. In regular places, the wall is pushed outwards leaving splits (burladero, from burlar: to evade, to dodge) that allow the bullfighters to go in the arena and to take refuge but are too narrow for the bull.Nevertheless, on rare occasions the bull jumps the wall causing havoc in the corridor.The walls also have a type of stirrup or foothold that aids in crossing over to the central arena, and sometimes stirrups on the arena side as well; these are used mostly by event staff if they need to intervene quickly in the case of an emergency. The arena is surrounded by climbing rows of seats.The seats are priced differently according to the position of the sun during the show, normally in the afternoon.The hotsol, "sun", is cheaper than the freshersombra, "shade".
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bullring" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Bullrings evolved as specialized sporting arenas hand-in-hand with the sport that demanded them. Many of the ancient Roman amphitheatres had characteristics that can be seen in the bullrings of today (in factthe ring inNîmes, France, is a Roman artifact,[1] though it is more elliptical than the usual plaza), and the origin ofbullfighting is very closely related to certain Roman traditions; in the formative years of the sport on theIberian Peninsula, those Roman enclosures were not commonly utilised for bullfighting events. Back when bullfighting festivals were conducted principally on horseback, the spectacle was a more public affair that took place in the city's openplaza areaIt was only later, when bullfights were conducted principally by men on foot, that the public needed a structure to house them appropriately. Initially, temporary wooden fences were erected to prevent the bulls from escaping. When bullfights became much more popular in 18th century, not only did the crowd need special seating to view the spectacle, they also needed a structure to contain the general disorder that reigned at festivals during the heyday of such legendary figures asCostillares,Pedro Romero, andPepe-Hillo.
For centuries, earlycosos (from Latincursum, meaning course, track) were rectangular. The earliest examples are found in theSierra de Huelva, which was the destination oftranshumance routes fromLeón, who brought some of their culture with them, including the feast ofSan Mamés, mostly associated with northern Spain. It was precisely in the hamlet of San Mamés, betweenAroche andRosal de la Frontera, where the oldest documentedcoso was built in 1599.[2] Very little of the structure of this rectangular arena remains, which has been extensively documented by local historian Antonio Rodríguez Guillén "Chamizo".[3] Another oldcoso was built inAlmonaster la Real in 1608, and the nearby plaza fromCampofrío, completed in 1718, is among the oldest with a circular shape.[4] The oldest plaza still in use, Las Virtudes inSanta Cruz de Mudela,Ciudad Real, dates from 1641 and has a square shape. The plaza fromBéjar (1711) was originally rectangular and later made circular. Likewise, when theLa Maestranza bullring inSeville was authorized for construction in 1730 specifically to house bullfights, the original plans called for a rectangular arena for the first three years, only later to be changed to a circular form that avoided the cornering of the action and put all viewers at the same approximate distance, the same reason for the elliptical form of amphitheatres. Another circular plaza was begun inRonda in 1754, and it featured its first bullfights in 1782.
In the late 19th century, theNeo-Mudéjar style became in vogue for plazas, involving decoration in visible brickwork. Since the 1990s, new construction technology allows some rings to be covered permanently or temporarily.
The primary purpose of the ring is bullfighting, but it is usually limited to some festival weeks in the year.In other times, it may be used as a concert venue as in theRock en el ruedo tour ofMiguel Ríos or the live recordDiamonds & Rust in the Bullring, featuring aJoan Baez concert in the Bilbao plaza.
Before the diffusion of modern sports premises, bullrings were used in theBasque Country fortraditional sports similar to challenges ofresistance running. The public made bets on the number of laps the runner could make. No bulls were involved.
After thebattle of Badajoz (1936) of theSpanish Civil War, the Badajoz ring was used as a confinement camp for supporters ofthe republic and many thousands were executed there by the Nationalist forces who had just occupied the town.
Most indoor bullrings, especially in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, in addition to being used for concerts, have also been used for indoor sports such asbasketball,ice hockey,boxing andlucha libre.
The most famous bullrings in the world arePlaza de Toros de Las Ventas inMadrid (Spain), widely regarded as the most prestigious one,La Maestranza inSeville (Spain),Campo Pequeno inLisbon (Portugal) andPlaza de Toros México inMexico City.[citation needed]
Villages round the Camargue, such as Rodilhan in the Gard, who also practise 'mise à mort' - killing the bull.
| Types, styles, and events | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sites |
| ||||||||
| Animals |
| ||||||||
| People |
| ||||||||
| Equipment | |||||||||
| Organizations |
| ||||||||
| Media | |||||||||
| Related | |||||||||
.jpg)
