Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-03-26
ONLY WOMEN BULLFlGHTERs.
Group Who Give Exhibitions In the
Barcelona Ring.

Group Who Give Exhibitions In the
Barcelona Ring.
Women appear to have invaded eN-
cry known calling of man from stee-
plejack to deep sea diver; yet 1t Will
be news to most to hear that there Is
a Cuadrilla of lady bullfghters in Bar
celona-the only troupe OF its KIND In
the peninsula. The writer came upon
them rehearsing one afternoon IN the
great silent bull ring at Barcelona un-
der the superintendence Of their busi-
ness manager, Senor Totti. Totti mad
undoubtedly struck gold mine In MS
cuadrilla de senoritas toreras, or group
Of woman bullfghters.
They have now been at work four or
five years, and have performed not
only all over Spain but also in France
and South America. In this as In. otn-
er matters the work Of innovation was
difficult. Spain's principal matadors
ungallantly sought to drown the lady
bullfighters with ridicule, but without
success. Even their practice in the
empty arena was enough to draw
crowd; and Senorita Lolita, the first
of the two matadoras, is as skillful
hand with the deadly short sword as
any crack espada from San Sebastian
to Algeciras.
Lolita was capering about and trying
to plunge the regulation sword into
mummy made from a large pair OF
real bulls horns surmounting wood
en- face roughly painted with tar, and
adorned with two ferocious white eyes.
His back was wooden plank in which
was a square hole two inches across,
situated Just where the most Vulner-
able point would be in the real animal,
and where a good matador always
tries to- strike This imitation bull was
mounted on a kind of gocart. and was
trundled about rapidly and in as real
istic a manner as possible by youth,
while Lolita did her best to drive the
bullfightng sword straight into the
hole.
She was wearing skirts during this
practice, but when in the arena Lolita
and her comrades in arms put on the
regulation dress of the male bullfght-
er. These women toreadors OCCASION
ally meet with serious injury. Lolitas s
dark face bears a long white scar
stretching from mouth to ear She
was terribly gored at Saragossa last
year. and nearly lost her life.
1T was my fault" she said, for
let my capa fall just when l needed
II most. You may be sure" she told
me, Il need all my nerve to deal
good clean blow at the end, and my
greatest safeguard lies in always
keeping as cool as possible"
Both Lolita and Angelita, the other
matadora, are from Catalonia, and
like most Spanish girls were enthusi-
astic followers of bullfighting from
earliest childhood. They often sighed
that they were not boys and regretted
being precluded from taking up the
national sport. One of the girls in the
cuadrilla comes of a family Of toreros.
Her brother is a very expert man in
the bullring, and the girl herself was
early initiated into the dangers of the
arena.
1t is a profession which must be
taken up young, while the joints are
still supple. All the men who are good
at it show what they are made of be-
fore they are twenty. Lolita began at
sixteen, and her sister principal a.
seventeen. At present these women
bullfighters content themselves with
killing two-year- old bulls, and so far
their manager has deemed it imprudent
to allow his charges to tackle the bulls
of six or seven years.
At the same time, the women per-
form many feats not attempted by the
men. There Is, for instance, the bus
mess Of jumping over the bulls back
by means of a pole and both leading
ladies" tackle the bull on horseback
with a long lance.
| Senior Totti himself superintends the
practice in the empty arena, placing
the girls in strategic positions, while
the young man with the wheeled dunn
my runs hither and thither, first at
one and at another. If one of the quad
drilla is inattentive to the performance
the master Of ceremonies rebukes her
severely.
After this practice has gone on for
| half an hour or so an exhibition OF
pole jumping is given, and this con-
cludes the days exercise. Next day,
it may be, the lady bullfighters give a
real exhibition and attract the whole
town Thousands turn out who would
not in the ordinary way attend bull
| fight. and bets are made as to the
nearly all respects the corrida OF these
women bullfghters is the same as that
of the men, and the time hOnOred state
entry, strategic distribution of forces
over the arena, entry of the bull and
miscellaneous play thereafter are all
closely followed.
Naturally now and then one of the
girls grows timid before an unusually
determined charge and takes to her
heels with stifled scream. The audi
ence roars with laughter, even though
her life may be in serious danger.
Truth to tell. however. these young
bulls, known as novillos. have little of
the true fighting spirit.
The pay of the women is very small
as compared with that of the first rate
male bullfighter. Lolita herself seldom
receives more than $50 for killing six
young bulls. while the rest of the
troupe account themselves luckily if
they get s. for their share of the en-
tertainment.