| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"loose cannon" |
| Date: |
08 Jun 2005 11:49:19 PM |
| Object: |
Dwarfs face bulls in Mexico's mini-fights |
The last time dwarfs found suitable employment in "Dwarf Tossing"
contests, so called do-gooder liberals forced these people back to the
unemployment line; for their own good, of course. Let's hope common
sense allows these people the dignity of earning their own way.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20050607-0500-mexico-bullfight-dwarfs.html
Dwarfs face bulls in Mexico's mini-fights
VALLE DE SANTIAGO, Mexico - The rousing trumpet music, the swish of
the cape and the shouts of "Ole!" as the bull charges are all familiar
to anyone who has seen a bullfight.
The unnerving thing in the bullring at this dusty central Mexican town
is that bull and bullfighter are standing eye to eye, both about four
feet high.
The Mexican "dwarf bullfighters" are carrying on a tradition born in
Spain along with regular bullfighting, as well as an even longer legacy
of "little people" as entertainers. But they say the ring showcases
their skill and comic artistry, making them more than just a curiosity.
While the young bullocks they use are half the weight of regular
fighting bulls, they are bred to be aggressive and, from a dwarf's
perspective, are just as frightening as the real thing.
"It's scary when you are face to face with a bull. It hurts when you
get hit. And it's dangerous if the bull falls on you," said Antonio
Garcia, 40. Before entering the ring, he showed off scars on his head
and dental repairs needed after run-ins with bulls.
"But I like it. I do it more for the fun than the money. I love being
an artist, and, thanks to being short, I've had this opportunity to
travel to lots of places," he said, grinning.
His troupe, which takes its show all over Mexico and the United States,
does not fight the bullocks to the death but, like bloodless "corridas"
in Portugal and France, it uses traditional bullfighting skills to lure
and dodge them.
The small-statured "toreros" wear traditional gold-trimmed matador
suits with pink stockings and black slippers and use pink and red capes
to perform passes.
While the bullock is a constant danger, the show descends into comedy
when two dwarf "picadors" enter the ring.
Instead of sitting on horses and spearing the bullock with spiked
wooden pikes as in real bullfighting, the pair have fleecy
pantomime-style dummy horses attached to their sides, providing
padding, and their aim is to hit the animal with a squeezy plastic
hammer.
"People laugh a lot at what we do, and that's the point, making the
public laugh. It's very satisfying," said Jorge Reyes, 48, who shines
shoes during the week and bullfights on the weekends for fun and extra
money.
"It's just like being a normal-sized comic. For me there is no complex,
I feel normal," said Reyes, who is married to an ordinary-sized woman
and lives in Mexico City.
The troupe's manager, Eduardo Ferandel, says Reyes was overcome with
emotion when the show came to his home town several years ago, and for
the first time in his life he saw other adults his size. Reyes joined
the troupe immediately.
FROM JESTERS TO MINI ME
A comic event from the start, miniature bullfighting arrived in Mexico
around 30 years ago, brought over by some Spanish dwarfs. Ferandel's
all-Mexican troupe, the "Original Little Dwarf Bullfighters," started a
decade ago.
New arrivals learn from observation, rather than taking any formal
training, and some bring singing and clowning skills to add a touch of
the circus to the bullfighting.
"Little people," as some prefer to be called, have been entertainers
for centuries, being excluded by discrimination or their height
handicap from many everyday professions.
Achondroplasia, a genetic variation that is the most common form of
dwarfism, affects around one in 30,000 to 40,000 people. Most dwarfs
- defined as adults less than 4 feet 10 inches high and having
atypically short limbs - are born to normal-sized parents.
After being court jesters in the Middle Ages, many were shown off as
circus attractions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Around 100 were
Munchkins in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz" and 32 inch-high Verne
Troyer has achieved movie star status playing cloned villain "Mini Me"
in the Austin Powers comedies "The Spy Who Shagged Me" and
"Goldmember."
"The whole idea is to make people smile and laugh. That's what we live
for and it's what we live off," said Garcia, one of two clowns who
dodge the bull alongside five bullfighters.
Many dwarfs find it hard to get regular jobs in Mexico, which does not
oblige companies to employ a percentage of people with disabilities and
offers no financial support.
There is no association to help dwarfs deal with everyday challenges
like bank counters, supermarket shelves, light switches, urinals and
clothes shopping.
It's all the more reason to love life in the bullring.
"They are not laughing at us but at what we are doing and the jokes we
make," said bullfighter Ignacio Zaragoza.
"I am happy as I am," added Rogelio Ayala, a car mechanic when not
bullfighting. "I don't envy anybody, I feel lucky. I have lots of
friends and I'm a star in my home town."
****************************************************
[the author of this post should NOT be confused with any of the dozen
or so people posting, or having posted, as "loose cannon"]
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| User: "ריעין ברתון/Riain Barton" |
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| Title: Re: Dwarfs face bulls in Mexico's mini-fights |
09 Jun 2005 01:00:23 AM |
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Do ***** off, JERK-OFF YOUNG
"loose cannon" <looseaint@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1118292559.785408.172520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
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| User: "Loose Cannon" |
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| Title: Re: Dwarfs face bulls in Mexico's mini-fights |
09 Jun 2005 09:20:08 AM |
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Insane forging pedophile and coward IBenGetiner/JYoung <Lappcatt@AOL.com>
<youngopinions@aol.com> engaging in the internet equivalent of a Chinese
fire drill forging as "loose cannon" <looseaint@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1118292559.785408.172520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
<IBenJYoung crap flushed>
Umm, speaking of Mexico, how about this post of yours, IBenABigot?:
"Dumb, hot-tempered, knee-jerk Mexican. He's just like ALL the others. He
just
can't keep that big Latino mouth shut!"
From: "Loose Cannon" <Findingis@aol.com>
Newsgroups: misc.immigration.usa
Subject: Fox: Just another dumb Mexican?
Date: 17 Mar 2005 02:11:23 -0800
Message-ID: <1111054283.494429.114280@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>
[the author of this post should NOT be confused with any of the dozen
or so people posting, or having posted, as "loose cannon"]
But they may *absolutely* be attributed to an insane forging pedophile that
creates multiple sockpuppets from AOL proxy servers:
From: "loose cannon" <looseaint@aol.com>
Newsgroups:
tx.politics,alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic,alt.atheism,soc.culture.jewish,seattle.politics
Subject: Dwarfs face bulls in Mexico's mini-fights
Date: 8 Jun 2005 21:49:19 -0700
Message-ID: <1118292559.785408.172520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 152.163.100.204
From: "J Young" <youngopinions@aol.com>
Newsgroups: soc.penpals
Subject: Re: Ice
Date: 18 May 2005 21:49:41 -0700
Message-ID: <1116478181.457876.16920@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 152.163.100.204
From: "IBen Getiner" <Lappcatt@AOL.com>
Newsgroups:
tx.politics,alt.politics.homosexuality,seattle.politics,talk.abortion,soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: Justices Refuse to Consider Law Banning Gay Adoption
Date: 11 Jan 2005 20:48:59 -0800
NNTP-Posting-Host: 152.163.100.204
LC~ IBen's clearly a mental dwarf.
"Jesus set the example. I will try to follow it."
From: (IBen Getiner), bigot and hypocrite of Biblical
proportions.
Message-ID: <396a5984.0404280215.43062cc3@posting.google.com>
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| User: "Paul Duca" |
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| Title: Re: Dwarfs face bulls in Mexico's mini-fights |
09 Jun 2005 05:35:12 AM |
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in article 1118292559.785408.172520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com, loose
cannon at wrote on 6/9/05 12:49 AM:
The last time dwarfs found suitable employment in "Dwarf Tossing"
contests, so called do-gooder liberals forced these people back to the
unemployment line; for their own good, of course. Let's hope common
sense allows these people the dignity of earning their own way.
For the modest price of their dignity as a human being....
Paul
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Dwarfs face bulls in Mexico's mini-fights |
09 Jun 2005 08:18:16 AM |
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Paul Duca wrote:
in article 1118292559.785408.172520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com, loose
cannon at wrote on 6/9/05 12:49 AM:
The last time dwarfs found suitable employment in "Dwarf Tossing"
contests, so called do-gooder liberals forced these people back to the
unemployment line; for their own good, of course. Let's hope common
sense allows these people the dignity of earning their own way.
For the modest price of their dignity as a human being....
Were any little people who were paid employees in "dwarf
tossing" contests forced to participate? Which involves
more dignity, being allowed to make choices with your
life or being treated like a child who cannot make those
choices?
Walt Smith
Firelock on DALNet
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