Saturday's Storyteller: Tauromachy
Tauromachy by Belinda Roddie I fell in love with a bullfighter while spending my second year in Barcelona, though I had to travel to Madrid to see her. Even though a court had overturned Barcelona's ban on the sport four years ago, not a single ring showed signs of life in that city. Once I was in the Plaza de Toros Las Ventas during the San Isidro festival, it wasn't just the rosquillas and the limonada that was making my heart pound. Seeing her again - an unconventional champion, having defeated the bull for the past seven consecutive Sundays, was to blame for the weekly adrenaline rush. Celia Molinero - or "La Torbellina," as she was colloquially called - was a real wonder to watch, in her bright red and gold traje de luces, her dark hair woven into strict, conservative braids. She truly was a whirlwind, moving from one side of the bullring to the next so quickly that she was almost a blur. The crowd roared when she approached the toro, and before the faena, s