Meet Langosto... a five year old Spanish bull who has been spared the outrages of the bullring...
Unfortunately he will not live to see his sixth birthday in October because he has been selected as this years victim in the infamous Toro de La Vega which is scheduled to occur in Tordesillas on September 17th. He will meet his end at around 12midday having been systematically chased, poked and jeered at by hundreds if not thousands of supporters and systematically tortured to death by the chosen ones in this annual bloodlust carnival.
At 11am he will be released from his crate into the streets of Tordesillas, amidst exploding fireworks and rockets, and chased through slippery streets across a narrow bridge and into a field just outside of town. There he will be subjected to a prolonged torture session involving men (and women) on foot and on horseback armed with spears and lances, each one 'trying' to find a kill shot that will put an end to his suffering. Only very rarely is the kill shot found immediately, indeed it seems to be the one aim of the contenders to prolong the spectacle for as long as possible, deliberately avoiding shots that will terminate the proceedings.
After God knows how many assaults from the 12" long spears attached to 8' long lances, the bull will collapse to its knees. mortally wounded but still very much alive. As the animals blood loss weakens him even further and he becomes no longer able to pose a threat, further lance attacks are made, normally culminating in repeated stabbing to the animals back, neck, shoulders and his head until he finally dies... The whole performance from start to finish can take over an hour...
The animals tail and it's scrotum complete with testicles are cut off and awarded to the 'hero' who makes the final killing blow.
The Ayuntimiento of Tordesillas receives thousands of protests and hundreds of petitions containing even more thousands of signatures every year about this needless ritual slaughter , but elects to do nothing quoting tradition and culture. The current Mayor of Tordesillas has even stated that whilst the animal may feel pain it doesnt suffer...
This is supposed to be a civilised country. HA! Pathetic... blood lust carnivals like this have their basis in a rite of passage into adulthood that went out with the 'Clan of the Cave Bear.'
To all those who would support these blood lust carnivals I say "for fuck's sake grow up" You do the credibility of Spain no good whatsoever. To those who would sponsor such activities as this and San Fermin and all the bullfights in Spain I say this...
Tordesillas...
It's not art, it's not culture, it's certainly not sport... it's the ritual slaughter of one of natures finest for nothing more than entertainment and to line the pockets of the chosen few and just to add insult to injury the whole fuckin' thing is televised nationally...
Last years contest was declared Null and Void because the animal was killed outside of the prescribed area... Null and void? How the fuck can it be Null and Void?... the animal still died, slowly and hideously in an ever growing pool of blood.The screaming hordes still got their moneys worth and the Sponsors got there premiums for staging the event. I'm sure the bull would appreciate knowing that he died needlessly...
A footnote to those who would post replies to this blogpost supporting this kind of activity... Don't Bother. All such posts will be deleted without comment. This is a blogpost not a bloody forum....