PLAZA DE TOROS, Visit
Language: English / USA
Take another look at the Arabian-style building with visible red bricks, horseshoe-shaped arches, and the inevitable sky-blue tiles.
Among the various entrances, I'd like to point out the "Puerta grande", which is the large gate the best bullfighters come out of triumphantly, usually on the shoulders of their fans.
The monuments that you can see more or less in front of the "Puerta grande" commemorate two famous matadors who both fell victim to bulls. If you look at the wall of the subway station, you'll see a statue dedicated to the Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming. You're probably asking yourself what a Scottish biologist has to do with bullfighting, but you should recall that Fleming was the scientist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin, a drug that has saved many bullfighters from certain death. A little further on but still in the large open space preceding the "plaza de toros", you can see another statue of a matador: this is Luis Miguel Dominguin, who's also famous for being the father of the famous singer Miguel Bosé.
Even if the bloody struggle between man and animal is not your thing, you should still go see the inside of the arena by participating in the "Tour de las Ventas". In addition to its different seating areas, you can also visit the infirmary, chapel, and lastly the Museo Taurino. The museum has portraits, statues, and "trajes de luces", which are the most famous bullfighters' costumes, along with the heads of the most illustrious bulls: you'll definitely be impressed by the costume of the famous matador "Manolete" that's still stained with blood. The bull fighter died tragically in the "plaza" of Linares.
FUN FACT: bullfighting has inspired artists from around the world as well, including the American writer Ernest Hemingway and the French composer Georges Bizet. I'm sure you've heard the aria "Toreador" from his opera "Carmen" at least once...
And with this we have finished our tour of the Plaza de Toros in Madrid. MyWoWo thanks you for staying with us, and will see you at the next Wonder of the World!
