Bullfighter children, the relay of a tradition that refuses to die in Venezuela

Nine-year-old César Paredes enters the ring impeccably dressed in his country suit and a folded cloak in his hand, to the applause of the public in a bullring in Venezuela. He dreams of becoming a great matador.

He studies to be a bullfighter in a small school in Mérida, a city in the Venezuelan Andes where the tradition of bullfighting still prevails despite the protest of activists to abolish it and the obstacles that justice places on festivities.

“I want to go out through the front door being a great bullfighter,” César repeats over and over again.

He has grown up in a family that is very fond of bullfighting. Her brother is already a banderillero, all led by her mother, a fan of the brava party.

Mérida has taken bullfights as the emblem of its carnivals for decades, always with good attendance, despite a long economic crisis that diluted the purchasing power of Venezuelans.

look brave

César and 15 other boys, as well as a girl, attend the class run by Mauro Pereira, a 73-year-old retired bullfighter.

Students practice upright and stable postures, such as freely extending their arms. Among them they take turns the role of the bull, which they perform by placing an antlers on their faces to charge.

The types of sets, the weight of the pink cloak, how to hold the crutch are part of the lesson, which lasts for about three hours.

also how “look bravely” and learn to bend the knees when they fall to the floor to get up quickly.

“We cannot hesitate, we must be determined and also have respect. When you start, you don’t win the crutch all at once, that’s little by little. You have to practice to be good, once I was close to a heifer and it was wonderful”says Leonardo Rangel, a 14-year-old apprentice.

“We want to fight!”

The students attended the I Contest of Bullfighting Schools “Le Bonheur d’un Torero”which was organized in February in Mérida with five participating schools.

“I think everyone will be proud when they see us as banderilleros, bullfighters and matadors”says Jefferson Vanegas, a 13-year-old student from La Grita, in the neighboring state of Táchira (west), who attended the event.

But the children were left without fighting. A court order prohibited minors from fighting in the plaza, even being close to any killing.

“The children shouted ‘we want to fight!’, but they were not allowed,” lamented Maritza Arias, César’s mother. “It was very painful to have to lift them from the stands and have them leave the place”.

César could only appear at the end of the event for a presentation with “image of bullfighter”received with applause by the public.

“I feel very proud to see my children in this, when things go well for them it becomes discipline, it is art for me”says Maritza, 47 years old.

“You have to educate”

But just as the love for bullfighting endures, activism against bullfighting festivities to stop these practices also grows. “barbaric”.

The public prosecutor’s office has suspended bullfights and Parliament is promoting a law against animal abuse, which can address this practice.

According to the current law, it is the power of the mayors to regulate shows with animals. Cities like Caracas and Maracaibo have banned bullfighting.

“I criticize those who go to a bullring to see how they kill a living being who is not to blame for being there, a being who sadly produces money for another and gives up his life for it”says Johan Sánchez, co-director of the Napda Foundation, which has organized several protests.

“You have to educate future generations to save them”said the 41-year-old activist.

Now in charge of imparting bullfighting to the new generations, Mauro Pereira responds: “It’s a whole culture that comes from thousands of years ago.”

“The fighting bull was made to die with honor and courage in a bullring”he argues.

Source: AFP