German students from our school visit Bilbao´s bullring

A group of students from our Spanish school, all from the German town of Singen, have today had the opportunity to visit the bullring here in Bilbao. In the entrance, the first thing that greeted the students were heads from the bulls and, clearly, the students had to all take photos of this surprising and somewhat shocking sight. They visited the various rooms of the bullring, such as the bullfighters´ room, where they found the chapel, with engravings by Goya on its walls and presided over by the Virgen of Begoña. In addition, the students were able to enter the bullring and feel like bullfighters for a day.

Jose, the Director of our school, acted as the students´ guide through the Museum of Bullfighting, illustrating with explanations the history of bullfighting in Spain for the students, as well as answering their questions. The Museum seemed to impress the youngsters, particularly the authentic stuffed bull´s head on show in the exhibition room. This allowed them to get an idea of the weight and fierceness of these animals.

Capes, daggers, bullfighters´costumes, posters announcing various bullfights, a mock-up of the old Vista Alegre bullring, photos of bullfighters such as Manolete, Gallito y Belmonte, an encyclopedia on the Art of Bullfighting, trophies and the ear of an Miura awarded in Zaragoza on the 18th of October 1990 to the famous bullfighter Antonio Fuentes...are some of the many objects on display in the museum.

The students were even able to see a photo of Ernest Hemingway, the North American writer who gave our school its name, during their visit to Bilbao´s bullring. The photo was taken as a result of a goring suffered by Luis Miguel Dominguín on the 21st August 1959 in the Bilbao bullring, during one of those bloody summer´s days about which Hemingway has written extensively.