When the matador comes out, he is dressed in a more regal wardrobe, known as a traje de luces (suit of lights), has a red cape instead of a pink one like the toreros, and walks about the ring in pompous pride, paying little or no initial attention to the wilted animal.
After his entrance is over, he gets close to the bull, now devoid of all energy and desire to defend, then puppeteers his red cape in front of it, encouraging it to charge. It takes anywhere between ten seconds to one minute before the bull musters up the juice to obey and charge without reward through the extended cloth. The crowd cheers "Ole!" when the bull passes through the cape.
With chest swollen, the matador turns his back on the bull, knowing all the while that he can remain turned so long as the crowd doesn't gasp, which would signal him that the bull has turned and continued the charge. You see, the bull normally charges, then remains facing the same direction, just fighting to stay afoot, on occasion falling. The matador circles back around in front of the bull, and repeats this process 7-10 times, or until the bull exhibits no more signs of charging.
The matador's goal in all of this is to bring the bull as close to his body as possible, and remain solid in his pose as it passes. This is where the matador's artistry and elegance is judged.
In Spanish, the verb matar means to kill, or to murder. Translating further, the word matador then means killer, or murderer. The same term is applied to a street criminal; it is not reserved for bullfighters.
In this photo, you can see the matador's pose for killing the bull. With the depleted bull's head hanging low and motionless, the matador positions himself head-to-head with the beast, with flag held low in one hand to keep the bull's attention, and sword held with elbow high in the other, pointing directly at the bull's shoulders. There is no need for the bull to attack. When the matador is ready, he does the attacking, aiming between the vertebrae for the heart. If the strike is accurate, the bull, now mortally wounded, staggers to the ground, exerting one final effort to hold its ground. It is not an immediate death.
Should the matador be successful in exhibiting control of the bull in the ring, and in killing the bull with ease, he is allowed a victory lap around the ring, while he is peppered with flowers, hats, and leather bladders of wine, which he drinks from.
There is a hierarchy of honor the matador can receive after a fight, determined by the president watching in a private box. If he performed well, he gets to take the aforementioned victory lap, and nothing else. If he performed better than well, one ear is removed from the bull, and presented to the matador. If he was exceptional, he receives both ears. And if his performance was deemed perfect, he receives both ears and the tail. This is the highest honor a matador can receive.
You will notice from this photo that this is very much a family event. Warm beer and plantain chips are even served in the stands.
Unfortunately, most matadors don't seem to be that good. In the six fights that I saw, only one matador succeeded in killing the bull on the first try. The other five needed multiple painstaking attempts to end the bull's life. This means repeated death blows that miss, only drawing more blood and misery from the helpless bull. Each of the other matadors needed a minimum of four attempts to strike the bull's heart, each failure more grueling to watch. After each miss, the crowd reels and boos, now in lament for the bull's suffering. With each miss, the matador stomps away from the bull in exaggerated anger at the supposed difficulty of this particular bull to kill, but more obviously over his own ineptitude.
Should the matador not be able to kill the bull in the traditional manner, he finally resorts to a slightly shorter weapon, which he drives into the bull's brain (seen here), hitting a specific nerve that causes immediate death. This method causes the bull to collapse upon contact, while the once brash and lordly matador takes a few bows and walks off in disgrace.
As soon as the bull hits the ground, regardless of the method of death, a group of men dressed in blue wind breakers run to the bull, and one of them rapidly slices a nerve in the back of the bull's neck, finishing him for good.
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