Monday, September 07, 2009

¡Olé!

And then, to top it off, I got tickets to the Corrida de la Goyesca!

The Corrida Goyesca, or Bullfight in the style of Goya, is performed in the oldest and most revered bullring in the country in traditional 19th-century costume, after the paintings by Francesco de Goya. This year, the suit of one of the matadors, Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez, was designed by Giorgio Armani. The popularity of the Goyesca has grown enormously in recent years, and I had reliable advice that tickets were all but impossible to get. They’re not available online, and the window at the bullring only sells them on a few set days prior to the fight. After this, licensed resellers have been known to sell tickets for up to €2000! Although I bought an expensive telephoto lens for (among other things) shooting the bullfight, I abandoned hope of actually gaining admission and resigned myself to photographing the peripheral events. But on the morning of the fight, I noticed an open window at a restaurant near the bullring advertising tickets for the three weekend corridas – the novillada (novice) fight on Friday, the rejones fight on horseback on Sunday, and the Corrida Goyesca on Saturday. I enquired, “Esta la Corrida de la Goyesca disponible? Is the Goya bullfight available?”

“Si. €92 por sol alto.”

I could barely contain my elation.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

NOW I bet you're glad you bought the big lens. Great luck on the ticket.