Bullfight in Cartagena, Colombia

One man on foot with a cape and one on horseback with a lance encircle a bull in a bullfighting ring. The floor of the ring is compacted dirt with large concentric chalk circles.

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 Colombia. While increasingly termed a bloodsport and criticized by animal-rights activists, practitioners argue the sport is an important cultural institution.

This scene is early in the bullfight. The matador, who is on foot holding the cape, is assessing the characteristics of the bull. The picador, on horseback armed with a lance, is getting ready to strike the first blow. Two more stages in the fight will follow this one, ultimately leading the death of the bull.