@theworld.org: In Costa Rica, anyone can be a bullfighter. In a traditional Spanish bullfight, a professional bullfighter, or matador, fights a bull in an arena using a cape and a sword. The event usually ends with the bull’s death. Costa Rican bullfights were the same until the 1960s, Costa Rica banned killing the bulls. Now, the fights are about audience participation. Pedregal, a district in San José, hosts a bullfighting festival every year, and most of the events are just regular people running around an arena with a bull. The goal is to show off, without getting rammed by the bull. The participants, called “improvisers,” can even poke the bulls with sticks, but if they try to grab the animals, they’ll be told to let go. The only requirements for entry are that you are not drunk and don’t wear bulky clothing. A bullfighting commentator admitted the events are stressful for the bulls, but he clarified that “outside the shows, these valuable animals live ‘like kings.’” Still, there are occasional protests at these festivals. And injuries are still pretty common, with the Pedregal fighting complex having two medical clinics. People have broken bones and even had their ribs ripped open, but one man can’t explain why he keeps bullfighting. “It’s just pure adrenaline,” he said. 📸 Original story and videos by Jamie Fullerton for The World @GBH #Bullfighting #RunningoftheBulls #Pedregal #Matador

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