Spain is tearing itself apart because of a giant bull of bad taste

“El Toro de España”: This is what the giant sculpture of a bull should look like according to the Academia de Tauromaquia.Image: Tauromaquia Academy

Higher than the Eiffel Tower and funded by private funds, a steel colossus with horns could become the new emblem of Spain. But the project divides across the country.

Ralph Schulze, Madrid / ch media

One might think of a satirical contribution to animate the hollow of journalistic summer in Spain. All this is actually very serious. The national Taurin lobby wants to erect the largest monument in the country: A steel corrida bull over 300 meters high.

It would be three times higher than the largest cathedral in the country, located in Burgos, in the North. And even exceeds the Eiffel Tower. Construction will also include an observation platform, located inside the tip of the horns.

A titanic project

The bull symbolizes Spain as the Parisian iron tower symbolizes France, justifies Jorge Altvarez, president of the Spanish Academy of Taurins. He adds that Spain does not yet have any major emblem to really represent it.

After all, many tourists bring him back in memory, in the form of magnets, keychain, cups or t-shirts.

This megaprojet would be funded by private funds. It would then suffice that the public authorities provide adequate land. Preferably, in a tourist town, in order to guarantee the economic viability of sculpture. Like the Eiffel Tower, the giant bull could generate the equivalent of 90 million francs thanks to the entries on the site, and the host city would take advantage of it.

Large cities that are not interested

But in the town halls of tourism metropolises, enthusiasm remains timid. Madrid has already politely refused the proposal. Burgos, put forward by supporters of bullfighting, has also issued reservations. The city president, Cristina Ayala, slipped with an evocative smile:

Until now, only a few small municipalities in the Taurine region of Castille and Léon, in the center of the country, have expressed their interest, including Toro, a locality with the very thematic name of 8,000 inhabitants.

But the contrasting reactions of the population actually reveal that it is not ready to adopt the famous animal as an emblem of modern Spain of the 21st^e century. Especially since the interest in the secular tradition of bullfights has been decreasing for decades.

According to official statistics, the number of bullfighting demonstrations has halved in the past 20 years. In 2024, there were only 1457. The quantity of spectators in the arenas also fell: only 2% of the adult population went there regularly, and they are most often men.

Another popular tradition in Valence

In several regions, including Catalonia and the Canary Islands, Corridas have been prohibited for a long time. In Mallorca (Balearic), most of the combat places have closed their doors for lack of attendance. It is only in the south, in Andalusia, in Madrid and in the Mediterranean region of Valencia that bull shows are still among the many popular festivals.

You could expect it: animal protection movements, including the Burgos Proanbur organization, do not see a good eye of this kind. On the one hand, the practice is controversial; On the other, followers consider it a culture worthy of being preserved. Animal defenders are unanimous:

An activist abounds:

In social media, the tone is just as virulent. For a surfer: “Do we want to dry up the grace of bullfighting?” While it is, please, with 300 meters of madness and bad to taste ”. Another ironically recommends:

(Translated from German by Valentine Zenker)

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