BOOK REVIEW

LA MUJER EN EL MUNDO DE LOS TOROS

(Women in the Bullfighting World)

Muriel Feiner.Alianza Editorial S.A., Madrid 1995. Reviewed by: Mario Carrión

Imagine that you as a bullfighting aficionado would be interested in knowing about women matadors, or that a researcher would need to investigate the roles that women have played in the world of bullfighting. Before 1995, the year in which La mujer en el mundo de los toros was published, the task of finding that information would have been almost insurmountable, since there was very little in print that dealt with the subject, and whatever existed was difficult to find, and often unreliable. But Muriel Feiner, brought a solution for those people interested in learning about the roles played by those women in the macho world of bullfighting. Roles that were not very relevant to the history and development of this art; but, on the other hand, they were very significant as pioneer steps, that later facilitated the recent compelling appearance of Cristina Sánchez in the ring, competing on equal terms with men.

The novelty and success of Cristina in the rings has motivated authors of taurine literature, bullfighting critics, and world press to pay attention to, what I as an ex-matador knew long ago, that women are also capable of risking their lives in the arena for the sake of creating art. What is remarkable and interesting to note is that the great success of matador Sánchez was not the motivating factor for author Muriel Ferier to write her informative book. She started researching her material long before Cristina was even a would-be-novillero, and published her book in 1995, one year before Cristina's alternativa. Muriel has her own reasons to embark upon he challenging task of writing such an original work, as she says in Spanish in her introduction:

I am simply an aficionada. But I felt and feel bullfighting as if I had decided to gamble my life for it; and to gamble your life for something, is, without a doubt, the most absolute degree of love...Nevertheless I well know the feeling of the women who want to penetrate that special, difficult, old, romantic, traditional, splendid and singular world of bullfighting . I am trying, therefore, to accurately reflect those brave and noble ladies who had entered it in one way or another.

Obviously, Muriel clearly states her goals at the beginning of her work. But there is still more. In an era when we are bombarded with messages from crusaders that use their writings as weapons to accuse, judge, condemn, and punish with the intention of making us feel guilty for injustices which took place in the past; Muriel takes the high road when witting about the women struggling to succeed in bullfighting. She presents the facts which, of course, do not exclude some discriminatory practices which women endured while trying to break into the traditional masculine field of bullfighting. She has the tendency to emphasize in her narrations what women did accomplish, rather than to speculate what they could have done if the world of bullfighting would have been more woman-friendly and less 'politically incorrect'. She leaves it to the readers to draw their own conclusions. But Muriel does not allow room for misunderstanding, by clearly stating the following:

I am not trying to campaign for revindication of rights, or to proclaim injustices. We well know how difficult is to be a torero, but let us admit that the fact that a woman is able to be in the bullrings --even if her presence is brief-- has to be even more difficult...In any event the difficulties are there for everyone. The bull, as they say, does not ask for identification, and does not understand age, nationality, or sex.

And Muriel continues:

The few women, relative to the number of men, who have traveled 'The Planet of Bullfighting'...have had tremendous merit, and even though they have not achieved the status of 'figura', they certainly have played a dignified role to date, placing the foundations for that long road that women still have to travel.

Now that we have dealt with Muriel's goals for writing this informative work, let's see how she implemented them by describing the contents of her book. In appearance La mujer en el mundo de los toros is not very impressive, since the book has been published in softbound form, but its covers hide a treasure. The book contains a tremendous amount of well researched information in its 420 pages. The facts are presented in a very logical and analytical manner, as they should be in a book that is historical in nature. Yet the reader does not feel overwhelmed with so much hard data, since Muriel adds feelings to what she writes, with great command of the language, making the content interesting as well as entertaining.

The book opens with a prologue, written by old-timer matador Angel Luis Bienvenida, who recognizes the uniqueness of Muriel's book and her merit in having filled a historical void in taurine literature. Then the book continues with an introduction, in which Muriel states her goals, which I have already quoted. Here she also explains the difficulties she found in her research because the women, she says, "have been ignored in all the great works of taurine history." Muriel supports her claim with examples such as these:

The main body of the work --18 chapters-- chronologically relates the history of each woman who has played any kind of role inside the bullring, as a matadors, a banderillero, a picador or a rejoneador. In these chapters you will find fascinating events performed by the women who dared to enter that man's world. You will read about their triumphs, their defeats, and their struggles, not only with the bulls, but against the lack of understanding and empathy from the public, male bullfighters, and promoters. We learn in those chapters that women bullfighters were American, Colombian, French, Portuguese and Peruvian as well as Spanish, and that they fought more often in Latin America than in Spain for political reasons. In Spain the women were prohibited by law to actively participate in the corridas -- except as rejoneadors-- from 1908 until 1933, and from 1936 until 1974. We also learn that, although women performed throughout the taurine world, they were not doing it on equal terms with men. Sometimes the women formed touring groups of "señoritas toreras" to be able to perform, since men avoided competing with them, especially the 'figuras'. The promoters often economically exploited those groups, mismanaging the performers, and discarding them after their novelty had worn off. That lack of opportunities to compete on equal terms with their male counterparts proved to be detrimental to their progress, since too often the women toreras were not taken seriously by the public, the aficionados, the press or especially by most of the male professionals. Nevertheless, a few female novilleros, matadors and rejoneadors found some degree of success. Among others, we note the "Palmeño Sisters", Juanita Cruz, Conchita Cintrón, "Morenita del Quindío", Juanita Aparicio, Patricia McCormick, Raquel Martínez, and Maribel Atienza, whose accomplishments are highlighted by Muriel. They were the predecessors of a group of aspiring bullfighers who appeared in the '80's and 90's. This group of women were the product of their time, who might or might not become great matadors, but they aspired to be 'figuras', as the men did. They wanted the whole thing or nothing, no sideshow for them. In the last chapter dealing with the active bullfighters, Muriel evaluates this new attitude of the women, and prophetically mentions the possibilities that, then in 1995, novillera Cristina Sánhez and Mari Paz Vega had for reaching the goals that the pioneer toreras had set for them.

During the balance of the book, chapters 19 through 23, the author directs her attention to other women who also gravitated, without confronting the bulls, to "The Planet of Bullfighting", as bull breeders, promoters, managers, veterinarians, seamstress, critics, artists, and aficionados. Muriel shows that even in those peripheral roles women have had to impose their will to take their places. In the aficionada chapter Muriel interjects her personal experiences, sharing with the readers some of the difficulties that she encountered, because of her double jeopardy of being a woman as well as a foreigner, until she was fully accepted, and her opinions considered, in that exclusive world.

Although the author tries to maintain a detached attitude throughout her narration, allowing the facts to do the talking, in the chapter about the mothers and spouses of the bullfighters, her passion comes through. She conveys to us the suffering of a mother, or a spouse, during the interminable two hours of the corrida, from the minute her child, or her spouse, goes into the arena until the telephone rings at the house after the corrida, and she hears the classic 'sin novedad' -- everything is OK-- at the conclusion of the fight. Muriel knows very well what she says, and her repressed anguish is reflected in her words. That is because in this chapter, Muriel, the historian, becomes the wife of Pedro Giraldó. Pedro, who was a matador, and is now a well-known banderillero, plays with his life in the ring day after day during the temporada, while Muriel and their children wait for the outcome. Since I was a matador for ten years, Muriel also touched me in a personal way, and made me think of my own selfishness, when I was pursuing happiness in the bullrings without thinking on the pain that I was inflicting on my wife and on my mother.

The book concludes with a brief epilogue by the psychologist and writer Fernando Claramunt López, who praises Muriel's work as well the author's many accomplishments in the field of bullfighting as a critic, a writer, a photographer, a knowledgeable aficionada and the supportive spouse of a bullfighter.

Since Muriel Feiner, an honorary member of TBA, reads La Busca, I will close this review addressing the author, but sharing my remarks with you:

Muriel, what a great contribution you have made to taurine literature with the publication of La mujer en elmundo de los toros. From now on it would be impractical to research, learn, or read for pleasure about the tribulations and successes of the women in the "fiesta de los toros", without consulting your book. I urge you to hurry to have it published in English, so the English-speaking aficionados can enjoy reading it as I did.The only thing you could possibly regret was the date of its publication, 1995. Two years later, it would have given you the satisfaction of spreading the word that a woman, Cristina Sánchez, following the footsteps of those pioneers that you featured in your writing, and in a feminine way, she is on the verge of becoming a 'figura', after two successful temporadas competing with men as their equal. You could also have written that the woman that you praised as a novillera, Mari Paz Vega, has been validated as a matador by another woman.

What a difference 2 years have made...but, of course you informed us that there were many unsung toreras who prepared the way and made it possible, when the time was right, for those modern toreras to dare to pursue their dreams.

Go to MY WRITINGS