Muleta
Encyclopedia
Spanish-style bullfighting
Spanish-style bullfighting is called a corrida de toros , or fiesta brava. In traditional corrida, three toreros, also called matadores or, in French, toréadors, each fight two out of a total of six fighting bulls, each of which is at least four years old and weighs up to about Spanish-style...
. It is different from the cape used by the matador earlier in the fight (capote de brega).
The muleta obscures the sword
Estoc
The French estoc or English "tuck" was a variation of the longsword focused intensely on fighting against mail or plate armour. It was long, straight and stiff, with a diamond or triangular cross-section. An estoc had no cutting edge, just a point. Examples from Poland are more than long, with a...
, and as in his earlier work with the cape, the bullfighter uses it to attract the bull in a series of passes, demonstrating his control over it. The red color of the muleta is actually unnecessary, though, as bulls are dichromatic, meaning neither the cape nor the muleta color can be accurately discerned by the bull. The color is retained merely for tradition and to make the bloodstains less visible.
There are a number of distinct styles of pass, each with its own name. With the cape, for instance, the verónica is a pass in which the matador slowly swings the cape away from the charging bull while keeping his feet in the same position. The faena is the final series of passes before the kill, in which the matador uses the muleta to manoeuvre the bull into a position to stab it between the shoulders, cutting the aorta. If this fails he must then cut the bull's spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
with a second sword, killing it instantly. The task of killing the bull is given to the matador alone; his title means literally "killer".