Local traditions and culture in Aquitaine

In not too distant times protestants weren´t allowed to be buried in the village graveyards. Therefore you can see everywhere really small graveyards. Often on private property. The one that is on the property of my parents contains 4 graves. An old man comes a few times per year to attend them. He himself is around 70 and his grandparents and great/grandparents are buried there.

Nowadays, you can´t be buried anymore in on of those tiny graveyards. But , if you see one, you now know why they´re there..

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The sixth bull is dead, near the entrance, the toreros share their “emotions” of the afternoon, they meet their fans and prepare to go back to Spain for a new corrida.
I am not sure they are really happy, looking at their faces when they come out from the arena;
There is a chapel in the arena (picture 3) and they make a short stop there before the corrida (I am not sure the Virgin agrees with what they do), before looking closely to the death (even of an animal). You can see on the left side of the statuette a poster with the insignia (arms) of the ganaderos (bull breeders) who sell their bulls for the corridas of this year’s corridas; right, above the entrance is the insignia of the bulls of the day. On picture 4 the matador has a chat with his apodadero (impresario; I do not invent it, it is really him, with the blue scarf) and the peones.
And the hero of the day is just taken to the slaughterhouse. . . . (last picture), anonymously. . . . and all is cleaned very quickly. . . Tomorrow, “The sun also rises”. . . . . , and a new corrida will take place.

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The sword is deep in his neck, the peones make him turn, he will soon fall. The “undertakers team comes then with the mules to tug the bull away ; looking at the face of the mule driver, he seems not exactly happy of what he does, but who knows what he thinks?
The matador made a “good job” and salutes the public who makes a standing ovation.
Sincerely, I do not know what the public feels deeply; there are certainly all sorts of people, sadists, people coming to see cornadas and why not the death of a matador, many people go by tradition, more or less, and there are real aficionados, who know what happens, know the technical and artistic things happening down there. Is the public happy for the “performance”, or happy to have seen a drama, happy only to see a fight in a sports sense, happy to see an animal suffer and die, forgetting their everyday bothers, well a bit all of this probably. . . . I wrote in the travelogue I felt bad, not by sentimentality, after all, it is an animal, and I go to the butcher’s, but I hate to see useless suffering, and I like this kind or animals. (my parents offered me a heifer on a birthday when I was a kid, and it became a cow, and I took care many years of that animal; ah, I had no teddy bear or bear I could take with me everywhere and as a companion or confident)

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The toro is exhausted, the “natural” passes are slower, and the bull, after, does almost not anymore “want” to fight and the matador, turns his back to the bull, demonstrating his domination on the animal; Then comes the sword; it is a pathetic time, as all will be finished very soon; it is also, by the way the most dangerous moment for the matador, as he has to be close to the bull and from face; great matadors died from cornadas (hits by the horn) at this very moment. I show it only from far. The killing can be “clean” but also sometimes the matador has to make several tries, which is really difficult to bear, and it makes a bad conclusion to a faena.

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During the faena, the matador guides the bull with the muleta, a red cloth, hanging on a stick and the sword.
During the first part of this phase the matador shows his “skills” to guide the bull, make him fight in rhythm, make him build a sort of a death choregraphy; if it is good, the music plays. At the beginning, the bull is still strong and runs fast, jumps, charges quickly (first pictures), then he goes slower, the matador makes figures sometimes kneeing (picture 4) and makes him turn around him, slowly, almost quiet and peaceful (picture 5).
The bull fighting for nothing, gets soon exhausted and then comes the last part of the faena, the death of the bull (next tip).

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Now comes the cavalry, with the picadores. The bull is “guided at the right moment to the horse which it charges; the picador pushes his lance in the neck of the animal who does not leave pressure if he is “brave”. This cruel operation is mainly (in tauromachic technical vision) intended the test the bravery of the bull and the weaken him, particularly his neck. There is a crosspiece on the lance which prevents it to deepen further than 15 cm, in order not to kill the bull immediately. . . . The bleeding begins. . . .
Then come the banderilleros who will pick their banderillas (wooden sticks with harpoon shaped iron heads) on the neck of the bull. It is a very spectacular (and dangerous) operation where the toreros need skill and speed. Well, it is a really sporty, adrenaline generating thing, but, cruel, exciting the bull, animating him for fighting. On the last picture, the bull is “ready” for the faena, the most important part of the corrida, in tercio tres.

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Six bulls will be fought in the afternoon; the corrida lasts for 2 hours, so each bull has about 20 minutes to live when he comes in the arena.
For each bull the fight is divided into three thirds (tercios): entrance of the bull and testing the bull with the capa, the wide pink and yellow cloth. If the bull is willing, and the skill full torero, makes him run, turn around him with veronicas and gaoneras, the most current “passes” of this phase. This Tercio Uno is generally short and finishes with a trumpet music announcing Tercio Dos.

Well, I only hope the Virtual Tourist censors don't read this tip!!!!!

Every February the city of Pau stages the Fête des Ours. This is a popular event watched by families from the roadside. The pictures made my jaw drop :-))

Men disguise themselves as brown bears. They rampage down the street with ...erm how can I say? Well... large male organs hanging around their waists. Artificial, I hope. They proceed to drag women from the crowd to 'have their wicked way' with them. Only symbolically, of course :-)

The event has something to do with hunting, and hibernation. And randy bears.