Gen Z ring changes as bullfighting ‘booms’

Female matador, 20, helps revive sport in Spain after it ‘fell victim to ideological battles and wokery’

ONCE the preserve of older, male Spaniards, the sport of bullfighting is being revived by some Gen Z with a 20-yearold female star leading the fightback against “woke” attempts to outlaw it.

Bullfighting audiences have dwindled in Spain in recent years because of Covid lockdowns and a campaign by the Left to resign the time-honoured pastime to the history books.

But the future of the sport appears to be in safe hands, with young spectators flocking to watch.

The most recent industry figures from 2021 show that those aged 15 to 19 were the most likely to have attended a bullfighting or bull-running event, with more than one in 10 having done so. This has prompted several bullrings, including Las Ventas in Madrid, to introduce youth seating areas.

And one of the Gen Z fighters that can be found in the ring is Miriam Cabas, 20, who says the industry is “booming”. “It shows in the number of people, and young people who come to the bullfights again and again,” she said. “We have gone through a few years when people were inhibited, admitting you were a fan of bullfighting was almost a crime.”

PACMA, an animal rights party, has led the campaign against bullfighting, suggesting breeders should be stripped of state subsidies. However, Ms Cabas, a veterinary student and animal-lover, has no objection to the spectacle.

“I love animals and I love the ‘toro bravo’ fighting bull above all,” she told The Olive Press.

Ms Cabas, who received two awards for her debut appearance in Aracena in southwest Spain, in 2021, says her gender does not inhibit her.

“It doesn’t matter to the bull if you are a man or a woman, so the challenges are the same.” And while she is forging a career in a male-dominated field, she doesn’t label herself a feminist.

“No, I am neither feminista nor machista [sexist]. I believe and fight for equality. We have to get up each day and fight for our dream, no matter what. Gender is not a problem or a difference.”

Catalonia and the Balearic Islands have tried to ban bullfighting but have been blocked by the courts.

While on a national level, Podemos, the Left-wing junior party in Spain’s ruling coalition, wants prohibition.

“Bullfighting has fallen victim to ideological battles. For groups such as Catalan nationalists and the Left, [it] is an enemy to be taken out,” Ignacio Borondo, president of the AJTE youth association of bullfight supporters, said.

“Wokery and international agendas are trying to impose a way of thinking. It’s hard for us to fight against the idea that bullfighting is barbarous, which is what any young person is going to pick up from the media,” Mr Borondo added.

“We are David versus Goliath; we need better communication to reach the young.”