“Bullfighting is a living culture,” says François Zumbiehl, French anthropologist and spokesperson for the International Council of Bullfighting Cultures (Cicult), a body recently created in Madrid and made up of bullfighting organizations from Spain, France, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela.
These entities are committed to defending and promoting bullfighting and cultural freedom in the eight countries where bullfighting events are currently held. In this regard, Zumbiehl alludes to the definition that UNESCO chooses for culture, the set of practices in which a certain human community projects its values, its sensitivity and its existential identity.
In his opinion, “a culture, minority or not, cannot be prosecuted, much less censored by any authority, unless it damages the universal principles of human rights.”
He adds that this approach works perfectly for the fans of the three European countries and the five Latin American countries with a bullfighting tradition. “They understand that many in the world do not share their values,” he continues, “but they demand respect, that they be listened to and that their sensibilities not be insulted with well-known caricatures; We, fans, share a heritage that reflects our history, defines us, and that we have the obligation to care for.”
Zumbiehl also maintains that bullfighting meets the five criteria set out in Article 2 of the 2003 UNESCO Convention to define intangible cultural heritage. “All bullfighting traditions, in their diversity,” he points out, “bring into play the arts of spectacle, social customs, rituals and festive events, traditional craft techniques, traditions and oral expressions, and contribute, in the end, to the knowledge of nature and of the universe”.
“It is up to us, amateurs and professionals, to defend and promote the exceptional cultural and ecological wealth of bullfighting traditions against any external attempt to censor or prohibit them,” he adds. “Our objective is clear. We are going to increase solidarity between the amateur communities of our countries so that the diversity and freedom of bull cultures are respected, in light of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNESCO conventions; these days thinking, particularly, of the Colombian fans.”