Torture-free Town

In the last years my perception of Spain has changed a lot. I still has a very strong Asturian and European identity (and that plays a role in my strong attachment to France, that at one point was the maximum expression of European civilization), but I'm not "in conflict" with Spain anymore. I no longer think Asturies should break away from Spain. After many centuries of living together with the other different cultures of the Peninsula I think there are enough common points to stay together (though for sure it's really important that the image that Spain projects outside stops being focused on Southern and Mediterranean Spain and finally starts to show the sheer diversity and plurality of the country). This said, there are things that the world associates with Spain that I profoundly distaste and continue to ashame me (me and a huge part of the population). Obviously bullfighting is one of them.

Modern "Spanish bullfighting" is rooted in southern Spain, but the disease was spread all over the country, as a form of trying to create a common tradition working as one of the basis of a fictitiously homogeneous country (as I've just said, Spain is a very heterogenous country due to its geography, climate, history...). This form of public torture made its way into northern Spain long ago. In Asturies, Uvieu used to have bullfights (corridas), but they declined in popularity and took place for the last time in 2007. After that the bullring (plaza de toros) went into a dilapidated state and though there are plans to restore it, it will be used only for cultural purposes (concerts...), and there's no intention to bring back torture to it. Unfortunately, for whatever the reason, bullfighting remained popular enough (I read years ago that it was maintained thanks to public fonds) in my town, Xixón, to continue perpetrating these acts of sadism for several days each year in August, during the "Semana Grande" (festivities week). In the last years the demonstrations and gatherings in front of the "Plaza de Toros" to protest against this heinous spectacle and demand its discontinuation have grown in strenght, but no signs from the city council made us think that they would come to an end. The previous, center-"conservative", major was indeed fond of this brutal "tradition", and the current "progressist" one had not given any sign of intending to change this (which indeed was rather disappointing).

So the announcement this week from the major that bullfighting was over has come as a beautiful surprise. While other Spanish minicipalities or autonomous communities officially banned bullfighting, the procedure in Xixón has been fair more simple. The license for organizing bullfights in town expires this year, so a new bid should be organized for the next years, and the city council has decided not to organize it. Simple and straightforward. Obviously a change of major could bring them back, but well, let's enjoy the present!

Obviosly local rednecks have condemned this and are trying to stop it, but I hope it will be to not avail. The local branch of the conservative party PP is collecting signatures against this measure, and the bastards of Vox (there are some stances of this party regarding immigration and criminality that I fully support, but their positions regarding Asturian language, Euthanasia, Animal Rights... make me feel a profund disdain for these idiots) promise to fight back...

It seems like what finally prompted the local council to take this decision was the fact that in this year's bullfights one of the bulls being tortured and murdered was named "feminista" and another one "nigeriano". Obviously this is disgusting, but animal rights and public honor should have been enough to make them take this step.

For all those saying that stopping bullfighting in our town will have negative economical consequences (in commerces, cafes...), well, for sure the abolishment of enslavement meant that some people stopped earning some money... It's funny cause one day after I said this in a family discussion, the local major made some similar remarks.

Same as in Uviéu, the intention is to reuse the bullring for cultural acts (concerts). Indeed I think it has already been used like that in the past. Honestly, I find the architecture of bullrings really ugly (it's not just that they smell to blood and cruelty, it's that the architecture has this sort of Arabic (neo-mudejar) trails that really disturb me), and also in order to prevent future majors to bring bullfighting back, I'd really love to see the building demolished.

You can find some information about this in English here