What is a plaza de toros ?
What is a torero ?
What is the difference between a matador and a novillero ?
How is the bull killed ?
What is a rejoneador ?
How is the weather?
Why are there two white rings painted in the arena ?
Why does the bull have a "rosette" on its back when it enters the ring ?
What time does the bullfight begin?
What time does the bullfight end?
What time does Five Star Tours open on bullfight Sundays?
How do you order bullfight tickets?
When can I pick up my tickets?
Do tickets have assigned seating?
What is a plaza de toros ?
A bullring. As the sun will predominantly shine on one side of the ring, that section is known as the "Sol" (Sun) and seats are cheaper there. The side predominently in the shade is known as the "Sombra" (shade). During the fight there will be areas where the sun will go down and also areas where the sun may appear. These may be sold as "Sol y Sombra", cheaper than the Sombra but more expensive than the Sol. The biggest bullring in the world is the Plaza Monumental in Mexico City. The biggest bullring in Europe is the Plaza Monumental de Las Ventas in Madrid. Spanish bullrings are categorised into first, second and third-class. The "plazas de primera" are Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, Valencia, Cordoba, Zaragoza and Bilbao. "Plazas de segunda" are mainly capitals of provinces and the rest are third- class. Although Pamplona is officially second-class, that and the Roman arena in the French city of Nimes are regarded by many aficionados as first-class in all but name.
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What is a torero ?
This is a generic term and can refer to anyone taking part in the bullfight. It should not be confused with "toreador" which does not exist in modern bullfighting, being popularised by Bizet in his opera "Carmen".
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What is the difference between a matador and a novillero ?
Matadors have taken the alternativa, a ceremony in which they are proposed and seconded by two other matadors and thereby graduate from novillero to matador. A novillero can only fight novillos whereas a matador can fight both toros or novillos but because of his standing, usually only fights novillos in a festival. Matadors are sometimes referred to as "espadas" (swords) or "diestros" (experts).
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How is the bull killed ?
At the end of the faena the matador or novillero will attempt to place a sword (estoque) between the shoulder blades of the bull which is meant to sever the aorta. This thrust is known as an estocada. If this fails to bring the bull down, he will use another sword with a crosspiece near its end (descabello) to sever the bull's spinal cord with a thrust just behind the back of its head. As soon as the bull is down, a banderillero will jab a small knife (puntilla) into this area as a coup de grace.
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What is a rejoneador ?
A rejoneador fights the bull from horseback in the style of the Portuguese "cavaleiros" using rejones de castigo (punishment spears) in place of a pica, banderillas and a rejon de muerte (spear of death) in place of an estoque. If he fails to kill the bull with the rejon de muerte, he must dismount and use a descabello. A rejoneador can fight either toros or novillos and also takes an alternativa to graduate to the former. A bullfight with a cartel comprised entirely of rejoneadores is known as a rejoneo. It is also customary for the tips of the bulls' horns to be taken off or in Portugal to be covered with leather cases to give added protection to the horses.
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How is the weather?
We advise our clients to bring a light jacket or sweater since the bullring is located next to the Pacific Ocean.
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Why are there two white rings painted in the arena ?
The picador has to remain outside the outer circle to receive the bull's charge in the first tercio and the toreros must station the bull inside the inner circle before it can charge the picador.
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Why does the bull have a "rosette" on its back when it enters the ring ?
All bulls are bred on ganaderias (ranches) which specialise in fighting bulls (toros de lidia). Each rancher (ganadero) makes his own distinctive notches in the bulls' ears, has his own branded insignia and his own colours. The rosette (divisa) shows the colours of the ranch which bred the bull and has a small barb on it. Just before the bull enters the ring via the toril gate, it is inserted into its hide using a long spring-loaded pole. The most famous ganaderia is that of the infamous Miura bulls from Seville.
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What time does the bullfight begin?
It begins at 4:00 PM sharp
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What time does the bullfight end?
The bullfight is about 2 hours long and usually can last up to 2.5 hours
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What time does Five Star Tours open on bullfight Sundays?
The office opens at 10: 00 AM and closes at 2:00 PM. We advise that all ticket reservation holders to be at least 30 minutes before any departure times if they have book transportation with Five Star Tours. All other holders must be at our office before 2:00 PM to obtain their tickets if not there are no refunds.
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How do you order bullfight tickets?
The best way is to order online through our reservation system. After you submit your requst, someone will contact you via telephone to reconfirm your order and at that time request a credit card to hold your tickets.
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When can I pick up my tickets?
All bullfight tickets are in our hands one week before the bullfight date. At that time, we can FEDEX or UPS any tickets to our ticket holders at their cost. If this is not the case, all reservation holders are welcomed to pick up their ticket at our main office in Downtown San Diego. On the date of the bullfight, you will be able to pick up the tickets at our box office. At the time of pick up tickets, your credit card or cash must be received to pay for your tickets, tours and transportation.
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Do tickets have assigned seating?
Unfortunately, we do not have in advance your assigned seats at time of confirmation. We can try to accomodate any requests if you have a particular seat you are interested in obtaining for the bullfight. We ususally get very good seats and remember that there is only assigned seating from Row 1 to Row 10 in both sides of the bullring.
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