I took this photo while attending a bullfight in the arena of Granada (Andalucía, Spain). I was in my young twenties and just becoming aware of the social reality around me, and started to think about human and animal rights, etc. I attended the bullfight because I felt that I had to see one before I could have a proper opinion about it. I was horrified. The bulls did not stand a chance in confrontation with the toreros, and were suffering a slow death, suffering severely. I remember that about round three began, I found myself cheering for the bull when it took the torero on its horns for a few meters, until fellow-toreros entered the field and intervened by distracting the bull. I found this wildly unfair, this five-against-one scenario while the bull had been on his own the whole time. Anyway, I was thinking of titling this photo something like ‘the flimsy charm to be found in the brutal’, because the charm I found that hot, tropical evening in May was only very flimsy indeed. I’d share with you the horrors, but then the horrific pictures on packages of cigarettes prove that that is not an effective strategy either to withold people from taking part in destructive practices. So I thought I’d share my lucky, almost picturesque, shot with you anyway, and still try to put the issue of animal rights up for discussion.
