Timothy J. Mitchell

A Social History of Spanish Bullfighting

Blood Sport

Describing how public animal slaughter came to occupy a central place in Spanish culture, this study attempts to unravel the strands of religion, class conflict, nationalism, political corruption and machismo that make bullfighting a microcosm of Spanish society.

He demonstrates that flamenco is a densely historical phenomenon, whose "moods and musical techniques alike are inseparable from alcohol abuse." The denizens of saloons, bordellos, and prisons poured out their woes in guttural deep song, and their haunting cries and brash guitars were quickly taken up by the playboy-philanthropists who frequented the dives. Performers of deep song explored every painful aspect of tragic love; male singers told of having their hearts trampled by some dark-skinned dancer, females of having been abandoned or battered by their men. Guitarists were often expected to double as pimps. Flamenco artistry as we know it today makes sublime psychodrama out of alcoholism, fatalism, masochism, and ethnic rivalry

Timothy J. Mitchell

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