In 2001, the “Valencia” company organized a bullfight in Yerevan for the first time ever. The bulls and bullfighters had arrived from Spain. The bullfight was a unique event; we had only heard about bullfights or seen them in films. The organizers promised that the people who would buy tickets for the bullfight at the “Hanrapetakan” stadium would not regret it. They also promised that no bulls would be killed because the bullfight was not foreseen to be Spanish style, but rather Portuguese where the fight is more subtle and no blood is shed. That “humanitarian” prerequisite was the prerequisite of the organizations defending the animals and the church. However, that prerequisite was not taken into account on the first day of the fight. There was one separate section on the field which had been surrounded by a fence. Photographer from “Photolur” Melik Baghdasaryan recalls: “The fence had pretty wide passages. The photographers and journalists were standing near the fence; the photographers were taking photos through those holes. The first bull was very slow and not too interesting. It appeared as if the second bull did not obey the rules of bullfighting; it did not take into consideration the red cloth, went through the opening of the fence and started to run around the stadium.”
The bull was uncontrollable and it was unpredictable. There were some trucks in the stadium which started to follow the bull. The audience did not need to be frightened because the posts were pretty high. However, the journalists standing near the cage were in danger. “We didn’t know what to do. Finally, we came up with a good idea. We got into the cage because that was the only safe place at that moment,” says M. Baghdasaryan. They were lucky; the bull did not return to its cage, however, it ran wildly around the stadium at a rapid pace. The event was extreme. The best solution was to distract the bull, so ten cows were brought to the stadium. But all that was in vain, the bull could care less about the cows. Upon entering the stadium, the cows started to graze calmly and without any fear. The audience was happy and many people started to respect the bull.
Everyone was on the bull’s side. It was decided to kill the bull. The human factor is more important than the life of an animal. Vice chief police Hovhannes Varyan personally took out a gun with bullets from the “Ambulance” truck. The bull was injured; however, it did not die. As a matter of fact, it became more violent. In the end, the bullfighter was the one that killed the bull, which should take place during a bullfight.
“The bullfighters did not bring swords with them knowing that there would be no need for them. As soon as the event started, the bullfighter brought a sword and killed the injured bull. The killer was not ready to take that step; he even cried,” says Melik Baghdasaryan. The show ended with the death of the bull, although another four bulls had to participate.
That day was both interesting and unforgettable for the people present. The organizers and the bulls were unpredictable. The mysterious end to it all added adrenaline in people’s bodies. M. Baghdasaryan says: “I think that many of the people gathered found out late that something wasn’t right. Some people got the impression that something had happened. There were more people at the next tournament. Everyone had come to the stadium waiting to see the same event. Alas, only four bulls took part. Everything was in order, however the planned out bullfight was uninteresting.