The Woman Who Fought Bulls

The bull stood motionless and stared at her. For ten minutes or so she seduced him toward her, and just as he thought he was about to kill her, she diverted him with dizzying, rippling, precise swings of her cape—first a windmill, then a circle, then a chest pass, where the bull rushes straight toward and then under the cape. As the bull passed her, Cristina’s back was as arched as a scythe. When the bull was swooning, she stood right in front of him, rubbed his forehead lightly with the flat of her sword, and then spread her arms, yelled something, and dropped down on one knee. The bull looked like he might faint.

From “La Matadora Revisa Su Maquillaje (The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup)” by Susan Orlean for Outside, 2004; Image: Elene Scotti (GMG), Photo: Getty/Shutterstock

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