During the next stage, called La Suerte de Banderillas, three banderilleros attempt to stick a pair of darts into the attacking bull's back in order to further weaken it. During the final stage, the matador enters the ring and leads the bull around the ring with a small red cape, all the while dodging and taunting the bull to show the spectators his power and courage. After this display of showmanship, the matador attempts to bring the bull to a strategic spot in the arena where he will deliver the "estocada," the killing sword thrust, into the bull's neck, and if properly done, the sword severs the aorta and the bull dies instantly. At this point the bullfight ends and trophies are awarded to the matador, depending on his bravery and skill.

Today, bullfighting is on the decline in Mexico. Leonardo Paez, one of La Jornada's bullfight critics, says, "You don't have a good spectacle, neither brave bulls nor good bullfighters...The spirit of the epoch is not heroism." Jose Chafik Hamdan, co-breeder of the Miaja bulls, which are among Mexico's most highly regarded, exclaims, "It is inconceivable." When Plaza Mexico opened in 1946 it never failed to sell out, however now with rival attractions such as television and shopping malls, bullfighting is struggling.

President Vicente Fox, a keen bullfighting fan with a private ring on his ranch in Guanajuato state, is prevented from publicly attending fights or even discussing them under the terms of a pact he made during the 2000 elections with Mexico's small Green-Ecologist Party.

According to Paez, Mexico has not produced a great bullfighter, one with the technical ability and charisma to control both the bull and the audience, for more the twenty years. Says Paez, "You need at least 10 good Mexicans, 10 more...

Enrique Fraga, president of the National Association of Bullfighters, acknowledges much of Paez's criticisms, admitting that Mexican bullfighting is "not in its best moment." However, Fraga points to an irony he says will save the tradition, that "Bullfighting has no place in modernity, in this age of globalization...That is actually part of what makes it so special and why people will always want to watch it."
Works Cited

Lenchek, Shep. The Conquest of Fear - Latino Style. 2000

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/bull.html accessed 12-07-2004

Haley, Allen. Beezley, William H., Judas at the Jockey Club and Other Episodes of Porfirian Mexico. University of Nebraska Press. 1987; Pp. http://www.proudcherokee.com/Judas.htm accessed 12-07-2004

Resendes, Raymond. Exhibition of a struggle between man and beast

Bullfighting in Mexico. http://gomexico.about.com/cs/culture/a/bullfights.htm accessed 12-07-2004

Tegel, Simeon. On the horns of a dilemma: bullfighting tradition hits the skids in Mexico City. Latin Trade; 3/1/2003; Pp.

Lenchek, Shep. The Conquest of Fear - Latino Style. 2000

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/bull.html

Haley, Allen. Beezley, William H., Judas at the Jockey Club and Other Episodes of Porfirian Mexico. University of Nebraska Press. 1987; Pp.

Resendes, Raymond. Exhibition of a struggle between man and beast

Bullfighting in Mexico. http://gomexico.about.com/cs/culture/a/bullfights.htm

Tegel, Simeon. On the horns of a dilemma: bullfighting tradition hits the skids in Mexico City. Latin Trade; 3/1/2003; Pp.