Bull and matador in Guadalajara, Mexico

A matador faces a bull in a bullfighting ring. The two combatants are still, close to the edge of the ring. Numerous spectators watch the confrontation from the grandstands.Bullfighting was brought to the New World from Spain during the colonial period. It is a highly-ritualized sport that still retains its popularity in Mexico. While increasingly termed a bloodsport and criticized by animal-rights activists, practitioners argue the sport is an important cultural institution.