‘Europe’, ‘Spain’, and the Bulls

From the Spanish perspective, ‘Spain’ and ‘Europe’ are cultural constructions, symbols in a dialogue about world view and the quality of life. For many years one was the opposite of the other. The many formats of the Spanish bullfights-known collectively as los toros (‘the bulls’)—have also become a cultural category with multiple meanings. The bulls participate in the ‘Spain’—‘Europe’ debate in quite a prominent way. Early in the debate, los toros became identified with the category ‘Spain’, as against ‘Europe.’ For many Spaniards the bulls are inherently un European. This explains the bulls’ polemical position for those Spaniards who want to be ‘European.’ Recently, however, as the category ‘Spain’ changed in meaning for some from ‘an opposition to Europe’ to ‘Europe plus something qualitatively more,’ so have attitudes towards los toros changed.