The "Toro de fuego" and "Torito Pinto" (part 3)

Torito Pinto and the Toros de fuego have often been considered different forms of the same thing, but as I look into the origins and ways of performing them, however, I wonder if this is correct.  It may be that Torito Pinto is indigenous to Latin America, and the Toros de fuego to Spain, and that they are two separate and distinct performances. 

Why do I think this?  For one thing, I see no dance to music and song associated with the Toros de fuego in Spain, nor have I found any reference to Torito Pinto in Spain.  Yes, in a few locations in Spain, the Toros de fuego are made with paper maché instead of iron, but perhaps the Spaniards borrowed the idea from Latin America.  

 

In Latin America, you see both the Torito Pinto and the Toros de fuego…but it’s easy to imagine that the Torito Pinto, which contains many indigenous elements, was a Latin American indigenous response to the bull fighting that the Spaniards brought with them across the ocean.

Another reason for thinking that the Toros de fuego and the Torito Pinto are from two separate traditions is because, although the very first Toro de fuego in Spain dates to the early 1900s, they didn’t become popular and widespread until just a very few years ago.  Instead, for centuries in Spain, live bulls had their hors dipped in pitch which was then set on fire, and the terrified bull set loose to run through the streets.  Apparently this dates back to a battle in which the fire-carrying bulls were used as a weapon against the enemy.

A performance from my documentary, "A Zest for Life"

But since 2010, animal rights’ activists in Spain have succeeded in getting many regions of the country to ban the use of live bulls, and so these were replaced by the metal or paper maché bulls spouting fireworks.  That is what you see in the modern Toros de fuego in Spain.

In other words, if I am correct, not only are Torito Pinto and the Toros de fuego two separate forms of cultural presentation, but the influence has gone both ways across the Atlantic:  the Toros de fuego from Spain to Latin America, and the occasional use of paper maché bulls from Latin America to Spain.

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The writer of this article, Eve A. Ma, is a filmmaker whose work includes documentaries about world music and dance, including Afro-Peruvian and Mexican.  She speaks Spanish, has spent much time in Spain, and has visited several Latin American countries.  Her web site is www.PalominoPro.comTo keep up with her work, sign up for her newsletter HERE