Ever since I was a kid growing up in Ogden Utah back in the early 80's, I've been fascinated by the Spanish bullfight. I even searched out books on bullfighting at the Weber County library, where I found and read "Death in the Afternoon" by Ernest Hemingway. I'm probably the only kid in Utah to have ever read that book. Now here we are 40 years later and I still enjoy learning about and keeping up with the bullfights.

April 23, 2016

What is a portagayola?

A portagayola is when a matador decides to meet the bull in a kneeling position as soon as it let out of the corrals and into the ring. It is usually done to get the crowd excited if the crowd hasn't had much to cheer about that day.
 
Or a matador might perform the move if he feels the need to prove his bravery to the crowd or the judge.
 
It is an exciting yet risky move since the bull can do any number of things once the he enters the ring and at times things don't always go the way the matador has planned.
 



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