• Animal-rights activists splashed red paint on statue’s hands and face
• No group has claimed responsibility for the attack near Sevilla’s main bullring
A bronze statue in the city of Sevilla depicting famed retired matador Curro Romero in a pose from a 1984 bullfight has been defaced with red paint by animal-rights activists, in what is seen as a growing anti-bullfighting mood taking over in many parts of Spain.
On Monday morning, the statue was discovered to have been spray painted with the words “Tortura no es cultura” (Torture is not culture) and “Asesino” (Murderer) on the base and plinth of the statue.
The statue, located off a traffic circle bearing the former matador’s name and giving onto a side street leading to the main “Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza” bullring in Sevilla, was unveiled by the city in 2001 just months after Romero’s last bullfight in October 2000, in which he killed the bull he was fighting and cut two ears off the bull as a trophy. Romero is said to have been in more than 900 bullfights in his career as a matador.
In addition to the slogans painted on the statue, the anti-bullfightng activists splashed red paint on the statue’s face and hands. City officials said it is not the first time the statue has been defaced.
Read the Full Story in Spanish at El País >>
