GLIMPSES OF SPAIN.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 107, 15 February 1935, Page 3

GLIMPSES OF SPAIN.

FOND OF REVOLUTIONS., BULL-FIGHTING SPORT. (Special to the “Guardian.”) AVELLINGTON, Feb. 12. Having lived in Spain as recently as 1929, Mr Stanley Harris, of AA 7ellington,- who gave some glimpses of that country to the Rotary Club on Tuesday, should know his subject fairly well. “AVhen I was there Primo de Rivera was in charge of things,” said Mi* Harris, “and though lie was a dictator—he had to be one—l am of the opinion that lie did the country a definite amount of good, even if he only postponed the riots and strikes which have taken place during the last two years. “As a matter of fact I think the Spaniard enjoys a revolution —there is something in it that suits his peculiar temperament. If he is not engaged in plotting to put someone out of office, lie is plotting to get someone into office. Of late the changes have been too rapid to express any opinion about them.”

Mr Harris said his experience of Spain was mostly centred in Bilbao and Barcelona, the two manufacturing cities which carried the rest of Spain on their backs. In summer the weather was warm. People began to work at 7.30 or 8 a,m. and worked right on until 2 p.m., when they had lunch, and then went to sleep. They went back to work from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and then came the big meal of the day, which lasted a full hour. As it was impossible to go to bed 1 upon such a meal they went out to join in tlie night life of the place—to the cabarets and restaurants.

“I have seen plenty of bull fights and enjoyed them,” said Mr Harris. AVhen he” first went to Spain, he said, lie expressed liis destation of tlie sport and referred to the massacre of the horses as being not altogether elevating. His good Spanish friend listened quite patiently and without feeling admitted that the horses did get knocked about, and then hinted that when the English huntsmen ceased to chase tlie weary stag into the English Channel they might reform bull-fighting. The matador was a man who had to be perfectly physically fit, with a nerve of iron. His business was to tempt the hull to charge him, and to stand with both feet together in one spot, and when tlie bull charged, just to sway sufficiently to allow tlie hull to misa him. n “There was no doubt about the danger and risk of the matador losing his file. There were certain stringent rules which had to be obeyed, and such rules applied to the baiting of the bull, and the matador’.s guile to induce the maddened animal to charge him while apparently rooted to tlie spot. Llieie was one skilful, matador who was so clever that he used to protrude his stomach, and, when the hull cliaiged, would draw it in so that the horns would rip his jacket away without .touching the man himself. I hat act always brought down the house —that v as what the people paid their money to see!”