Letter from Spain #2
Initial reactions, TV, radio & Sant Jordi ... and the end of 'dwarf bullfighting'
On Thursday in Spain they banned bullfighting events featuring dwarves dressed in costumes, in a decision welcomed by disability rights groups but condemned by the few surviving performers.
In a tradition that apparently goes back decades, people with dwarfism dressed as firefighters or clowns had entertained audiences by chasing young bulls without killing them, in shows considered to be comic.
While the number of self-styled ‘dwarf toreros’ had been dwindling, ‘dwarf bullfights’ were still being staged, especially during festivals honouring a town’s patron saint.
By banning the tradition, Spain comes in line with European Union directives on discrimination against disabled people. Quite right, too.
A handful of the few remaining ‘dwarf toreros’ staged a protest in front of the Spanish Congress in Madrid, however, to express their condemnation of the ban. They said they feel respected and appreciated when they are performing at bullrings, and that without the shows their livelihood is at stake.
I mention this bizarre news item because not only is it the type of news that could only come from Spain (yes, Spain is different), but it’s also a topic of conversation that could have quite easily led to a quick ‘debate’ or shouting match that Elena might have had with Benjamin in The Barcelona Connection (and still can on screen). I can’t tell you more if you haven’t read the book yet (so you have to read it!) - but there’s already a line or two of shouting dialogue about dwarf bullfighters that I think we could now incorporate for the TV series.
Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, and it can certainly be more ‘tabloid’. While writing The Barcelona Connection, I would often worry that something specific was going to happen to a bullfighter in the real world before the book was published (I can’t tell you what, you have to read the book!). It was an odd thing to keep you awake at night. Also, very early drafts of the original screenplay, pre-2010, took place when bullfighting still existed in Barcelona. After the bullfight ban in Catalonia came into effect, certain scenes were moved to Nîmes in the South of France. I remember a reader also commenting that the original character in an early draft of the screenplay of the US Secretary of Sate, Chuck Patterson Jr., was ‘too old, bumbling and exaggerated’. But then along came Donald Trump and now also Joe Biden … with all respect …
It’s been two weeks since the book was published and the initial reactions and reviews have been fantastic. I did a TV interview for an English language show in Barcelona that can be viewed here below (and my new diet started immediately after I saw it) …
I was interviewed by Hannah Murray on her book show for Talk Radio Europe … and I have started to set up dates to present the book in Madrid and Malaga - and, of course, in Barcelona.
I had hoped to have written a Substack ‘Letter’ last Sunday 23 April … but I’m afraid Sant Jordi got in the way.
For Sant Jordi, one of my favourite times of the year in Barcelona, I signed copies of the book in my hometown of Sitges, at the Sitges Ajuntament table (organised with the Bibliotecas of Sitges), and also at the table of the Welsh-Catalan Association (well, I’m a quarter Welsh). Thank you to all who came by and bought the book!
If you’re reading the book and want to make any comments, I’d love to hear from you. I aim to publish this ‘Letter from Spain’ every Sunday, so please sign up to receive it for FREE and recommend it to others. Thank you for reading!