A Spanish troupe of “dwarf bullfighters” presented this Thursday in the south-west of France a “comic-bullfighting” show, without violence on the animal, while this type of representation has been banned since April in Spain.
The Spanish parliament denounced the shows presented during bullfights by troupes of small people, “in which people with disabilities (…) are used to arouse the mockery, ridicule or derision of the public”.
The ban is based in particular on European directives on disability-related discrimination.
“It’s comedy, just parody”
In the village of Téthieu in the Landes, near Dax and a few tens of kilometers from the Spanish border, in full arenas – 650 seats – the “toreros comicos” of the “Diversiones en el ruedo” troupe performed skits and easy gags, with or without cowhide, changing costumes several times, to laughter and applause.
“It’s comic spectacle, there is no blood, no killing, just parody”, explains Daniel Calderon, leader of the troupe of 11 artists.
According to him, the ban made in Spain “is based on a false pretext, used by people who just don’t like bullfighting”.
The law approved by the Spanish Senate and Congress has been the subject of legal action and remains subject to interpretation: a show of the same type was organized on July 4 during the Feria de Teruel, in Aragon.
“Depriving them of their work is discrimination”
The latter also stirs up the anger of Paúl Nuñoz, 31, including ten in the bullfighting world, who denounces “an injustice”. “At no time were we asked for our opinion, no one offered to put us around the table to discuss it. We love what we do, it’s our job. »
“Depriving them of their work is discrimination,” denounces Mika Romero, representative of the troupe in France.
For the president of the Téthieu festival committee Jonathan Dufort, “they are bullfighters, people who train, athletes, who have designed a show to entertain”, like the summer events of “bull swimming pool” or from the old game show Intervilles.
Opinions that are not shared by Violette Viannay, president of the French Association of Small People who works “to promote better integration” and “to solve the long and complicated project of the “look of the other”, this type of spectacle is “counterproductive”.
Collectively rethinking this representation
She insists on the handicap, far from being “simply a question of size”. “Dwarfism is a condition that results from rare diseases. Beyond accessibility issues, they sometimes cause significant health problems. »
The minister delegate in charge of disabled people, Fadila Khattabi, considers with AFP that “although everyone is free to participate or not in these representations, the mockery and discrimination made against people of small stature are part of a centuries-old story that we must put an end to”.
“Considering dwarfism as a source of entertainment poses a problem and it is urgent to collectively rethink this representation”, adds the Minister Delegate, preferring to highlight the “superb performance” of French athletes at the World Championships for short people which are ending Saturday in Germany.