Conquistadors and Matadors

Conquistadors

For some reason unkown to me the Extremadura region of Spain is home to a great number of Conquistadors. Whether for fame, fortune, religious fervor or just adventure these men were not only willing, but eager to sail across the ocean, explore Nueva España, meet, greet, convert, enslave or slaughter indigenous peoples and exploit their gold, silver, emeralds and other precious properties. By today's standards they would be men willing to fly away in untested rockets, across uncharted skies, explore other unmapped planets like Mars for instance, and deal with the Martians but with a communication system with home base that takes a few months at best to get a reply.

One such man was Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of what is now known as Peru and the founder of the capital city of Lima. His likeness, mounted on a horse and in full battle gear dominates the Plaza Mayor in Trujillo.

His home, where he sat in the garden, shown at left, and dreamed of his conquests, is now a museum situated between the Iglesia Santa Maria and Alcazar.

Above is a list of 13 of the most famous Conquistadors who are native sons of the Extramadura region, not including the two mentioned here.

Below is a statue of Conquistador Francisco de Orellana wearing an eye patch over his left eye. There is probably an interesting story about how he lost that one. He was under the command of Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of Francisco and fought in Peru then explored the Amazon.

Matadors
Since we are in Spain we have to go to a bullfight, or so Karen thinks. I went once before in Barcelona in 1978 and it was enough for me. Karen has not been to a bull fight. I have been inviting her to watch videos on You Tube showing how it's not really a fight, something a Spaniard would readily argue, but a methodical process to publicly and rather torturously kill a bull.

Not easily swayed, we went together to buy tickets last week for this Sunday the 14th of June. We were able to convey to the vendor that we wanted to be in the shade (have I mentioned how hot it is getting here?) since the event begins at noon. Karen was talking to some of the other students who have been before who convinced her that the torreodors on the 14th are amateurs and she needs to go on the 11th, a holiday, because the competitors, both bulls and men will be primo and put on a better show. I submit that the bulls probably do their best at every event and do occasionally take their revenge, although futilely, on even the best of men. I suppose that keeps it interesting and supports the argument that the bulls do indeed have a fighting chance.

So yesterday I had to go back to the booth located on Calle Tetuan and convey in Spanish that "Quisiera cambiar esto (our ticket) para once de Junio. El dia esta diferente, pero todos otros es mismo". Almost unbelievably he simply replied "Mas caro" (more expensive). Wow, I can actually make myself understood so I replied "Intiendo, vale, vale! More than double is the real meaning of more expensive. American Express loves us.

I will wear my new straw hat and smoke a Cuban cigar, Sevillano style. Ole! Ole! Oh boy!

So this Thursday at noon we will sit in the shade on the third row and watch the pros. Watch for a report with photos on Friday morning.