EL TOPE DE TOROSBy Elena Tapia

Dance of bullsaka

wild bulls running free in the streets

Tope de Toros?

In The Beginning…

Ancient Rome and southern Europe Bull worship and sacrificeCore of Mithras religion, 100 AD – 400 AD

○ Secret, practiced by some Roman militia ○ Initiation to prove worthiness: slay powerful

animals like bulls

Oldest depiction of a man fighting a bullCeltiberian tombstone from Clunia, SpainCave painting, “El toro de hachos” , Spain

Running of the Bulls: Spain 1591 First, solely a way of

moving bulls into corrals, now most popular festival in Spain

In honor of Saint FerminJuly 7th – 14th

All Around the World Mexico

Home to the largest bullring in the worldOne of the most popular sports for the past

400 yearsSimilar fiestas throughout Latin America

United States: New OrleansSince 2007“RollerBulls”Throughout French Quarter

Japan

Bulls fight each other stopped by “sekos”

(bull separators) before harming each other

Honored, never killed

Granada, Nicaragua

Uncertain starting date Our Lady of the

ConceptionLa Cochita

8-10 bulls

Now for the more important question of WHY?

Freud: re-inaction of primordial conflict Jung: struggle to attain masculine

energy; bull is the universal symbol of strength

Durkheim: creates social solidarity and peace within a community

Is it more simple than that?

Spanish heritage?

Form of entertainment?

Reason to drink?

Tradition?

What do you think?

Special thanks to: Leonor Melendez Jeanine Morales Donald Blandón Don Elena Dr. Thomas

Works Cited"Spain Culture: Bull Running in Spain." Spain Info Com. Web.

09 Aug. 2010. <http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/bullrunning.htm>.

Higgins, Tom W. "Western & European Bull Riding & Fighting." Ezine @rticles. 30 Dec. 2008. Web. <http://ezinearticles.com/?Western-and-European-Bull-Riding-and-Fighting&id=1834050>.

Slodkowski, Antoni. "Japanese Bullfight Draw Fans as Spanish Corrida Faces Criticism." The China Post. 3 Aug. 2010. Web. <http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/japan/2010/08/03/267140/Japanese-bullfights.htm>.

Home of NOLABULLS.com. Web. 18 Aug. 2010. <http://www.nolabulls.com/index.asp?id=10>.