BillI agree with you. Back in the day, I was fortunate to have Professor Margalef as one of my teachers. He was already Emeritus professor but my class enjoyed his very special lectures, sporadic and full of brain gymnastics. Professor Margalef made an extraordinary effort to translate many of his textbooks and popular science books to Catalan, quite a challenge considering how prolific he was. Regarding the banderillas in bull-fighting, as you indicate, one of the objectives is to severe muscles to minimize the ability of the bull to swim the horns. But it also has the objective of debilitating the bull and making the use of the sword easier. The "toro bravo", the special race of bulls used in bull fighting, has very strong musculature in the frontal part of its body. The muscular mass has strong attachments in the upper part, making the characteristic "hump". This profile can also be observed in the American Bison for example. Such muscle groups allow for explosive speed and impact. If untouched, the toro will be too strong for the torero to deal with. So it goes through several rounds of "taking away his force". Because in fact, the torero, is not a brave as they want you to believe, you see. Banderillas are just one of force-taking implements. There is also a "picador", a guy on a horse, with a very long spear who keeps spearing the toro for long periods. The combined effect of all this stabbing is to cut and macerate the musculature, so finally, when the torero dressed in his very shiny outfit comes around for the final moment (apparently the one that brings more "pleasure" to the viewers), he can insert a sword that goes through the heart of the toro. Nothing like a good sword to end the show. Finally, you are also correct in highlighting there are many examples and "traditions" of animal abuse and torture in Spain. There is a long list of them unfortunately. But there is also a dedicated group of people that slowly but surely work very hard to educate both the population and the politicians, and peacefully, and through the use of the democratic process, catalyze new laws that prohibit animal cruelty. There is still much work to do.
Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D. http://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTorres > Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:59:40 +0100 > From: [email protected] > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Catalunya > To: [email protected] > > To add an ecological footnote to Sarah's posting, I remember on one occasion > when I went to visit with Ramón Margalef as I walked in the door he looked > up apologetically and told me that since the Spanish government had just > authorised the use of the Catalan language, he was busy translating his > classic textbook Ecologia into Catalan and had to cancel our appointment. As > one can gather from Sarah's postings, the Catalans take their language and > culture very seriously! > > It is my understanding that the purpose of the banderillas is to severe the > neck muscles of the bull to lessen its ability to swing its horns. > > Unfortunately bullfighting is not the only form of cruelty to animals > associated with Spain. One particularly gruesome custom is that many Spanish > hunters kill their dogs (galego español) at the end of each season, and they > do this by hanging them. If they are not happy with the dog's performance > they hang it so that its rear feet barely touch the ground, ensuring a > slower death (they call this dancing). You can see demonstrations against > this in cities like Madrid, but whther this is having any effect in the > country I don't know. > > Bill Silvert > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Sarah Frias-Torres" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: quinta-feira, 12 de Agosto de 2010 16:00 > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] no problem RE: [ECOLOG-L] Perseid meteor shower and > more.... > > > MikeThere is no need for apology, as my post was trying to correct a > pervasive error and misreporting that keeps showing up on CNN and many other > news broadcasts. I also provided a bit of history on this subject for all > those at the list server who might be interested in the recent development > of bull-fighting prohibition in Catalunya. > The Nazi reference to Franco's regime was two-fold. First, it reflected how > bull-fighting was forced upon the Catalan culture. We are talking about a > time, specially the first years after the end of the civil war, in which if > you spoke Catalan (our language) in the streets of Barcelona, you were shot > to death on the spot by police or the military. Imagine if speaking your > native language resulted in an immediate death sentence. > Second, the nazi reference to the regime was correct. The basic connection > between Franco and Hitler is out there in the history books for those who > want to read it. What readers of this forum might not be aware of is that > due to the recent "ley de memoria historica" (law of historic memory) we are > now uncovering the killing fields Franco and his nazi friends had over many > parts of Spain, as well as extermination camps that were called "re-training > centers". Obviously in this kind of oppression, anything labelled "national" > had to be complied with (including bull-fighting).This was also a time when > the democratically elected president of Catalunya, Lluis Companys, was > executed after a mock jury decided he was guilty (of being a president > elect!).There is much history that must be rewritten, but as they say, > history is written by the ones that win the wars, while the victims of > injustice rarely have a voice. > Why all this information has any relevance at all in the Ecolog forum? > Animal cruelty has many shades of gray. Sometimes it is an imposition, by > accident of history, "tradition", or simple inertia. In the Catalan case, > the citizen movement has ended the injustice. Unfortunately, we have to wait > until January 2012 for the law to be enacted... such is the nature of the > law. There are still many other examples of animal cruelty to deal with, and > it will take a great deal of effort to eradicate them. > There are people in Spain at large, and in Latin America, who enjoy > bull-fighting very much. So unfortunately, bull-fighting will continue for > many years to come. But at least, not in Catalunya. By the way, the fact > that some people enjoy watching an animal being tortured, in panic and agony > for the best part of an hour, and slowly killed through sequential stabbing > (which is what the "banderillas" and other implements accomplish)... > experiencing joy and pleasure from such a sight reveals the sadistic > personality of the viewer. In fact, enjoying animal abuse and cruelty > (whether by inflicting it or watching it unfold) is a basic characteristic > of a sadistic personality disorder. > > Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D.
