Now think of how many women would dare to enter the ring and compete in a sport dominated by men since the dawn of the tradition of fighting bulls?
Conchi Rios debuted last evening in Madrid before a full stadium, with a team of novices making their professional entrance; skies were clear but winds were stronger than usual, dangerous if the calculations of the wind upon a red cape are how you protect yourself from a charging bull.
Rios faced death squarely, she showed great spirit and bravery, but each of her two bulls outmatched her.
Near us in the stands was a loudmouth who was tired, like all of us watching her stumbling to place the sword deeply in the beast's muscular neck at the end of the well-fought match.
The loud-mouth's deep Spanish words rang loud across the waves of people,"Go back to ironing, that's where you belong!"
The people nearby looked over their shoulders scornfully and seemed to brush off his comment as those of a fool. I over heard another man a row behind me say in Spanish, "It's lamentable, but even today for a woman to succeed, she has to perform twice as well as a man."
My view is that Conchi Rios has more courage than any one of us in the stands, and she has a great future before her. May she never meet a bull that's smarter than she is.
This morning I awoke thinking that I would have liked to call back to the loud ugly critic, in my best booming South Texas pocha orale! shout-back voice, "Hey, you Neanderthal, por que no te metes a la cueva donde vives tu?"
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