An American in Lima

I’ve been away from An American in Lima for a little while (understatement) but thanks to my friend Levi Novey, aka Mr Green HuffPost, I’m getting a bigtime nudge to return to blogging. Which I do love doing, by the way.
Levi let me hijack his column today to guest rant about bullfighting (The Twisted Temptations [...]

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Ten-year-old Michelito waves a bloody sword to crowd after his drawn-out debacle in the Acho bullring last November; photo c. Jorge Vera 2008

November 29’s corrida marked the penultimate bullfight of the Señor de los Milagros festival, held in Lima’s historic Plaza de Acho bullring.
The last day to see bullfighting in Peru’s capital is December 6, next Sunday. (Ticket information [...]

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19-year-old Peruvian bullfighter Milagros Sanchez kneels in the sands of Acho, Nov. 1, 2008; photo copyright Jorge Vera 2008

This year’s Señor de los Milagros (Lord of the Miracles) bullfight festival (Nov. 1 – 23), held in the historic Plaza de Acho bullring, began in a rather unorthodox way.
(1) One minute prior to the start of the Nov. 1 [...]

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Sand leveller Carlos Echevarria, Plaza de Acho, Lima; photo c. Jorge Vera 2008

 Carlos Echevarria has been leveling the arena at Lima’s Plaza de Acho bullring for 35 years. It is his job to cart in fresh sand, spread it over the 60-meter-wide arena and pack it into a firm, even surface.
Then a pair of workers uses a rope and spike to draw [...]

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“There’s no way to be a great matador and not get gored.”
That’s what Bob Simon of 60 Minutes drew from his experiences while reporting on bullfighters in Spain, and it’s an ethos shared by most professional matadors. (Click here to read about Simon’s getting gored himself while researching his story.) 
Horrendous groin accidents are part of [...]

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Matador David Galan, who stars in the Nov. 2 corrida

Raging bulls, elaborate torture rituals, hot sun and sand, seriously handsome guys in skin-tight outfits skewering animals through the aeorta: Lima’s Feria de Acho bullfight season (Nov. 2 – 23, 2008) showcases raw, in-your-face Spanish-style bullfighting, and the Peruvian crowds love it.

Spanish matador Uceda Leal, of Madrid, who fights in the first Acho corrida, [...]

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Back in the United States, tension and uncertainty are mounting to excruciating levels as November 4 nears. One guy will win, one guy will lose, and the specters of voting improprieties and riot police haunt many Americans’ visions of what might happen on Election Day 2008.
Hopefully the presidential candidates’ “duel to the death” will be [...]

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The boy in the grey t-shirt swept out his arm and arched his torso in an elegant bow-shape as the “bull” charged within an inch of his hip. Then he pivoted on one foot and flicked the cape at his opponent’s head. The red fabric spun and twirled, daring the sharp, curved horns to come closer.
They were two Limeno kids, [...]

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