Las prohibiciones históricas de la fiesta de los toros

Abstract

This article looks at the various bans on bullfighting -which Garcia Lorca described as the world's most education celebration- that have been imposed in the past. Despite these prohibitions, some of which were more severe than others, bullfighting has always managed to prevail, and this fact needs to be taken into account in today's difficult times for this tradition. Ortega y Gasset said: "It is impossible to understand the history of Spain properly without first constructing the history of bull-fighting." Therefore, the detailed analysis that follows merely highlights the enormous importance, since time immemorial, this tradition has had for the Spanish people and that, despite the prohibitions, they continued celebrating, because it is so deeply rooted in Spain. © 2013 CSIC.