Puerto Vallarta, Bullfight Demonstration and Show through Princess

Has anyone done this tour through the cruiseline? The Princess shore excursions book reads........ you go to Puerto Vallarta's Plaza De Toros, where your demonstration begins with a Charro show, a display of Mexican style rodeo complete with trick riding and roping. The highlight of the afternoon is a non-lethal demonstration of the art of the Corrida (the bull is not killed).

I am very skeptical about this excursion. My husband wants to go as he believes what the shore excursion book says, that the bull will not be killed.......not me. I think that maybe the bull will not be killed in the ring before our eyes but I still think it will be lanced and tortured before it's taken out of the ring and then probably killed where we can't see it. Has anyone actually done this excursion and can you verify what really happens. Either way, I refuse to go but now my hubby is having seconds thoughts if they are going to lance the poor animal.

Thanks Pat

Personally, as a devoted animal lover and member of every organization which supports the idea that animals should not be harmed... even if the poor bull is not killed it will be teased and hassled....I would not EVEN consider supporting this venture in ANY WAY! Just my opinion (can you tell I feel strongly about this subject?) LuAnn

Well, I have to say that I totally agree with you..........in order to get the bull to charge they have to annoy it some how and that too does not sit well with me. I can't even kill a spider that I find in the house........pick the little sucker up and place outside. I definately won't be going but I was hoping that someone that has done this shore excursion could verify that it was not a pleasant experience so that I would have some sort of verification in writing to show the other half.

Thanks for your input.

Pat

Canadagal....as a very wise, old sage once said...I don't want to get in the middle of this one!!!! Good luck and let me know how it turns out...you know my view!!! You go, girl!!! LuAnn

If I had to guess, the Bull will be kept alive until the cruise passengers leave - then at the regularly scheduled bullfight that day or the next it will be killed.

At least a real bullfight has a long history and cultural tradition behind it - this sounds like something made just for tourists who don't like the idea of killing the bull. Doesn't sound like something I'd want to check out.

Search this forum for a recent discussion on the Bullfights to read about the real ones.

Well...I don't like the "real" ones either...even if they have culture and tradition behind it! Not quite sure how anything this barbaric got started? Anyway...as I said before...I am an animal activist and feel very strongly about this "sport"! LuAnn

Thanks Johann and Sandra: I showed your post to hubby along with the one you recommended and he has decided he does not wish to attend the bull fight anymore. Yippee! So we will be doing the tour that checks out Liz Taylor and Richard Burton's old house and then some shopping. He's not that disappointed anyhow, as the Liz and Dick excursion was his second choice.........if the bull fight was full.

LuAnn: How traditions got started could be a topic unto itself........look at cock fighting and dog fighting, goose pate, eating dogs etc. etc..........oh don't get me started........better left well enough alone or I could go on a rant! Think I'll go give my 4 legged children a big hug.

Thanks again to both of you and happy cruising!

Pat

We did the "bull fight" a few years ago. We felt it was one of the worst excursions. A couple of men and their kids rode around on horses, did a couple of tricks with ropes and then a REALLY LITTLE "bull" might have been a baby, came out and they did the cape thing. There was no blood, swords, knives or anything like that. If I remember right I think they had a rope tied around his middle, like in the rodeo for the bucking horses. The bull wasn't hurt at all. We were there in May and it was hot, everyone was looking for the shade, wouldn't recomend this to anyone.

Pat...good idea..I'll give my 4 legged one a hug as well!!!! LuAnn

Azjanes...

Was that in Puerto Vallarta? I've been to the bullfights in Puerto Vallarta and there was definitely plenty of bull killing, matador-impaling, and brain-stabbing to whet your appetite for blood.

Perhaps this was the fake-weak-stomach-just-for-cruisers bullfight mentioned earlier?

Here's some terrible pics from our very first trip to Vallarta back in 1997 I think it was - we hadn't read up on the ceremonial aspects or traditions of the bullfights so we were totally appalled at the animal torture we witnessed. Nowadays I see bullfighting in a different light.

http://www.johann-sandra.com/pv/

This sounds like some sort of rodeo show given to satisfy squeamish tourists who want to thrill their friends and family back home. There is no way a true fighting bull bound for the corrida would be "toyed" with prior to meeting a professional matador to the exclusion of a few cruise passengers cameras. Bullfighting is a time honored tradition (whether we agree with it or not), and bulls that go into the ring are actually quite smart. It only takes once or twice meeting up with certain tricks before they can outwit the toreadors and matadors they may come into contact with. Also, these bulls are highly prized and extremely valuable - not baubles for tourists to gawk over. Just as a prized heavyweight fighter (boxer) in our country normally wouldn't put on kitchey performances for tourists from other countries, it wouldn't happen in Mexico, either. The bulls used for these shows would be of inferior quality for the corrida (or they are just your garden variety bull), probably used in such a way until they either become too big or too smart to handle in a small and subdued setting (can't have the tourists get too excited by seeing just how aggressive a bull can actually get, you see), and then it is butchered for food. You do know that bulls = beef???

Is this "cruel"?? Not sure that it's any more cruel that swimming with dolphins or stingrays, and somehow people seem to think doing that is cool because they do not see the immediate effects of harm to those animals.

Go figure.