The Senate will host the 2024 National Bullfighting Award in collaboration with the Toro de Lidia Foundation (FTL), according to the agreement signed last week between the Upper House and the bullfighting corporation, to which Europa Press has had access. Victorino Martín, president of the Foundation, has confirmed to this newspaper that the agreement was signed electronically and that its objective is to replace in substance and form the award that was eliminated by the Ministry of Culture, headed by Ernest Urtasun, of the party Add, on September 6, which has been granted since 2013 with an endowment of 30,000 euros.
The idea of the organizers of the new award is that it be decided before the end of the year by a jury in which the different bullfighting sectors are represented, and that it maintains the same financial amount, although it is still unknown where the funds will come from, although Martín has made it clear that they will not come out of the Foundation’s coffers. The expectation is that they will be provided by an external collaborator.
On May 29, the plenary session of the Senate, which has an absolute majority of the Popular Party, approved a motion presented by the Parliamentary Group of this party in which four requests were made to the Government: firstly, to rectify and convene the National Bullfighting Award this year 2024; guarantee, on the other hand, the conservation and promotion of the National Bullfighting Award, “as a duty of the General Administration of the State, in coherence with the condition of Spanish historical intangible cultural heritage of bullfighting”; third, reestablish the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts for Bullfighting, suppressed in 2023, and “the recognition of the economic and social importance of bullfighting as a generator of employment, wealth and development in the communities where it is practiced.” ”.
In that same motion, the Senate reaffirmed “its commitment to the defense and promotion of bullfighting as an integral part of the cultural and artistic heritage of Spain.” And he added that “as long as the Government does not call the National Bullfighting Award and until it is recovered, the Senate, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Bullfighting Association, the parliamentary groups and the autonomous communities that want to join, will host the Award annually. Senate for Bullfighting.”
From that parliamentary agreement now arises this agreement with the Toro de Lidia Foundation, which has appealed since October 2 the suppression of the National Bullfighting Association before the contentious-administrative chamber of the National Court. In the letter, the FTL considers that the elimination of the award, “promoted by the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, violates the legal system, which obliges public administrations to promote bullfighting as a relevant part of culture in Spain.”
He Official State Gazette On September 6, it published the order that suppressed the National Bullfighting Award and justified it “by the need to adapt the awards to the evolution of the creative and cultural sector in response to social demands.” Likewise, it pointed out that “certain activities linked to bullfighting or specific elements thereof are rejected by broad sectors of society as they are considered an unacceptable form of violence against animals.” The Ministry also argued that a 90% majority supported the cancellation in a public consultation in which there were only 3,300 votes.