Death in the Afternoon

Ernest Hemingway once said "Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter's honor." The timeless American author had a lot to say about one of the most controversial and perhaps misunderstood aspects of Spanish culture. Opinions on the subject range from "It's nothing more than cruelty to animals" to "It is pure and artistic." On this trip, our students have approached bullfighting in a mature manner, and the Advanced class debated (in Spanish!) whether they were against the tradition or not. Later they asked Gaditanos (people from Cadiz) about their opinions in order to gain an idea of how this tradition is viewed by native Spaniards.


On Sunday, we offered the students the option to view a bullfight in person, and nine students chose to attend. I was very proud of their behavior during the exhibition: they asked questions, took photos, and tried to follow the action of the fight. The showed great respect to the tradition.


I am also very proud of the students who chose not to attend based on their feelings regarding bullfighting. As I mentioned earlier, this subject is very difficult--especially for foreigners--to grasp and understand why it takes place. However, I am pleased we have introduced the theme and I hope the students continue to explore their beliefs and develop their arguments regarding this tradition.


ON A LIGHTER NOTE, we enjoyed our second group dinner in Cadiz Saturday night. The students chose from many different traditional Spanish foods, including Paella, Ensalada Mixta, Adobo, Filtetitos de Ternera, Pescado Variado and Cazuelas de Merluza.








The students impressed us once again with their appetites!



The photo below is one of many photos taken by Ilana Bondell during an "art photography" activity.