Artistic work or discriminating spectacle? A Spanish troupe of “dwarf bullfighters” presented Thursday evening in the south-west of France a “comico-bullfighting” show, without violence on the animal, while this type of representation has been prohibited since April in Spain. The Spanish parliament targeted performances presented at bullfights by troupes of small people, “in which people with disabilities (…) are used to arouse mockery, ridicule or derision from the public”. The ban is based in particular on European directives on disability-related discrimination.
In Téthieu in the Landes, a village of 850 inhabitants near Dax, a few dozen 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 comedy, there is no blood or killing, just parody,” says Daniel Calderon, leader of the troupe of 11 artists.
For him, the ban made in Spain “is based on a pretext, used by people who just don’t like bullfighting”. The law approved by the Spanish senate and congress remains subject to interpretation: despite legal challenges, a comic-bullfighting show of the same type was organized on July 4 during the feria de Teruel, in Aragon.
In his sequined costume, Paúl Muñoz, 31, including ten in the bullfighting world, 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,” adds Mika Romero, representative of the troupe in France.
For Jonathan Dufort, president of the Téthieu festival committee, “they are bullfighters, people who train, sportsmen, who have designed a show to entertain”, like the summer events of “bull swimming pool” or from the old game show Intervilles. “Why should they be reserved for people of ordinary height?” asks this volunteer who organizes “five to six bullfighting shows” of all types each year for “popular festivals”.
Spanish troupes of “dwarf bullfighters” have already performed in the Landes in the past and shows of the same kind are presented in particular in Mexico. But according to 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 gaze of the other”, this type of show is ” counter productive”. 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.
Asked by AFP, the Minister Delegate for People with Disabilities, Fadila Khattabi, considers 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 in 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.
