Francisco Marco and the Bull

These images were repeated at least three times on all the Spanish news programs on October 6th. Francisco Marco the matador and the bull that nailed him in the femoral artery and flung him about like a rag doll. Then the bull stomped his limp body while his crew tried to lure it away. One of his banderilleros was pulling ineffectually at the bull's tail, while others waved their capotes in front of the its face.

It is amazing how quickly and easily a human body can become a piece of lifeless meat. And you can see this transformation in its various stages on any given day on the national news. The Spanish media are apparently unafraid to show reality all reeking and raw. Whether it is the tragic end of a bullfight or an average day in Iraq, you can see what really happened on the news.

It's hard sometimes to eat chorizo when you see people bleeding on the TV. But we manage, just like all of our European neighbors. We eat our chorizo and sip our wine and watch the reality happening on the TV.

Ignacio de Zuluaga's Toreros de pueblo.

The latest on Francisco Marco is that he is recuperating in intensive care. Interestingly enough, though, a week later we can't find any recent updates on him. He was all over the news last week and now no one seems to remember that he was gored.