Submitted by Callie Shanley on the 2017 winter session program in Spain and Rome sponsored by the Department of Political Science and International Relations…
Today was a long day of travel from Granada to Sevilla. On the way, we stopped in Ronda, where the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain is located. The ring is made entirely of stone and has the largest amount of space dedicated to bullfighting, but only has about 5,000 seats, which is a comparatively small amount of seating for a bullring in Spain. Though it was interesting to learn about the history of the sport and it’s significance to the people of Spain and Spanish culture, I was slightly upset about the thought of bulls being killed just for sport. It was difficult to separate my feelings about the animal cruelty the bulls endure at the end of their lives from the realization that it has been a part of Spanish culture and history for so long. Regardless of how I may have felt, Ronda was absolutely beautiful and I was so glad that we stopped there. After seeing the bull fighting ring, we walked around the town and went to a bridge that had amazing views of a canyon below us. Ronda is situated between mountains so the views were absolutely breathtaking. We got to see within the canyon where there was plenty of vegetation all around and witnessed the mountains in the distance. We ended the program with a group meal that involved plenty of traditional Spanish foods like croquettes and ham. I thought that the excursion to Ronda was a great experience as it helped break up a travel day and allowed us to try to understand bull fighting an integral, but controversial part of Spanish culture.
