Thursday, October 8, 2009

In the final stage, the tercio de muerte ("the third of death"), the matador re-enters the ring alone with a small red cape (muleta) and a sword. It is a common misconception that the color red is supposed to anger the bull, but bulls, in fact, are colorblind. The cape is red to mask the bull's blood. The matador uses his cape to attract the bull in a series of passes, demonstrating his control over it by getting especially close. The faena (literally job) is the entire performance with the muleta, which is usually broken down into "tandas" or "series". The faena ends with a final series of passes in which the matador with a muleta attempts to maneuver the bull into a position to stab it between the shoulder blades and through the aorta or heart. The act of thrusting the sword is called an estocada.

No comments:

Post a Comment