Bilbao’s bulls speak Spanish, Novillada (young bull-fight), 10th May 2009

At Instituto Hemingway, we feel it is very important to combine Spanish classes with lesiure activities which allow us to get to know more about the culture and customs of the country. In fact, we offer extracurricular activities in our Spanish language classes program.

This time, we are offering Spanish students and interns an opportunity to learn more about bullfighting culture.

On Sunday 10th May, all Spanish students ‘have a date’ with the bulls. We are meeting at Instituto Hemingway at 5pm and from here we will go to the Vista Alegre bull-ring.

This ‘novillada’ (a bull-fight with young bulls) signals the start of the bull-fighting season in Bilbao. The toreadores taking part in this fight include Javier Cortés, Juan Carlos Rey and Patrick Oliver, who will carry out an encierro (a tradition created in Cádiz involving bulls running through the streets), in Fuente Ymbro.

Novilladas are carried out in the same way as the traditional bull-fights, the only difference in a novillada is that the bulls are younger and smaller, and that the matador (the name given to the bull-fighter who carries out the killing of the animal), has not yet been awarded ‘la alternativa’ (a bull-fighting qualification). Generally, those participating in novillados are young bull-fighters who are still in training.