Wracked with Guilt

I´m feeling bad even before we get there, ever since I was told that 6 of them will be slaughtered. And it happens like this every Sunday. Everyone says: what did you expect? It´s a bullfight. But still it´s so horrible. My rationale is that it would happen whether I attended or not, and it is part of the culture I guess, so when in Rome...
The ¨corrida de toros¨ starts at 4pm in this huge stadium called the Monumental Plaza Mexico and costs only 55M for the nose bleed section, which is more than close enough for me, thanks. The place is one of the biggest bullrings in the world, but isn´t nearly full as I am told that this is the start of the season.
The first bull comes out followed by the matador, who tests it awhile using a pink cape. At this point a few other costumed men come out with the capes as well and take turns distracting the bull. The next stage is where men on horseback enter the ring with lances and taunt the bull some more. The horses wear protective gear and are blind folded so they don´t run away. In the first event, the bull knocks the horse over. It´s quite terrible to watch, but it eventually gets up and appears unharmed. The men on horses leave and in the next stage, the matador thrusts razor sharp barbed sticks into the bull´s back. I believe this is to further aggravate and tire the bull. The matador works the rest of the event with the cape, attracting the bull in a series of passes in order to show his skill. And finally the bull is killed by a sword between it´s shoulders. It is dragged out of the ring by the horses and the blood on the ground is covered over. This is repeated 6 times over the course of the afternoon.
The second bull comes out aggravated and we are told that sometimes this is done by sending electrical charges into it´s testicles. This is just plain torture and I can´t believe I agreed to watch. We stay for 5 killings and leave a bit early to avoid the crowds.
Prior to the bullfight, I went to the area of Coyoacan with the girls from Slovenia, Natja and Petra. We visited the Frida Kahlo museum and walked around a bit. I was a genius and brought my student card with me, so I´ve gained discounted admittance to a few place so far. Another highlight so far has been the fruit stands that sell what seems like a litre of fresh fruit for 15M (1.50). That is if you can get past the vendors handling the money and who knows what else before handling your food, which I´ve long ago grown accustomed to... More later!