The tradition of Bull fighting (Torero in Spanish)  began in 1888 here in Alicante and has continued for over one hundred and twenty-five years. That is a very long time and it has a strong tradition here in Alicante and in Spain.

I won’t debate the issue whether bull fighting is right or wrong because frankly I am in no position to determine that. I am keeping an open mind to bull fighting and wanted to learn more. We decided to go and check out the “Museu del Toros”. The museum is attached to the Plaza del Toros. This is where they have the bull fights every year in Alicante.

The Plaza is located in the heart of Alicante and surrounded by cafe shops and a small park. There is also a large statue of bulls and a horseman in the park beside Plaza del Toros.

The museum was located on the second floor in part of the Plaza del Toros. The entrance was up a set of stairs aligned with beautiful blue tiles on the walls.

At the top of the stairs we came across a metal statue of a matador.

As well as the statue we were met by several bull heads and paintings mounted on the wall.

Once inside the museum there ware several alcoves along a long hallway. The alcoves contain information and displays related to a specific matador or group of matadors. There are also specific bulls mounted on the walls with plaques indicating the details of the bull, such as weight, year and name.

In the alcoves we saw some of the garments worn by the specific  Matador. Each piece of clothing is a work of art and quite ornate. They are custom-made and embroidered with silver or golden threads. Some of the “capotes” (Spanish for capes) are also adorn with artistic designs that can be very ornate. The Matadors highlighted are from the Alicante area and there was some of them had died in the bull ring.

 

Below is the matador cape that was very impressive. It was designed with the Veil of Veronica. It is the image of the holy face from Alicante which is very common image in Alicante.

We were able to see some of the older exhibits of the bull fighters garments and read some of the stories. It is amazing how young some of the bull fighters are. There is also a tradition of receiving the ear of the bull after the Bull is killed in the ring.

The museum was very interesting and we enjoyed it more than we thought we would. It was neat seeing all of the exhibits and some the old posters of the bull fighting events.

After the museum tour we stopped into the local cafe called “Plaza Espana” and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and tea.

“adios y que tenga un grand días”