Ritual & Sacrifice in the Corrida
For many Americans bull fighting is the one of the most misunderstood phenomena. The title of this fine book by Allen Josephs best explains bullfighting to the uninitiated Bull fighting, or toreo as Josephs correctly prefers to call it, is a ceremony of ritual and sacrifice.

The relation between man and the bull is lost deep in the fog of prehistory. Some say it was the bull not agriculture that domesticated man. The corrida is one aspect of that relationship, a sign of respect and honor to a noble enemy and friend.

The book is much more than a story of bullfighting. It is a classic saga of courage and perseverance as Cesar Rincon, a Colombian, against all odds succeeds in a foreign sometimes hostile land. From the plains of southern France, across the mountains of central Spain to the difficult rings of Andalusia, Allen takes us on a whirlwind adventure that criss-cross the breath and depth of Spain as he follows Rincon in his quest for the perfect corrida.

Josephs writes in a lyrical style more in the mode of Garcia Lorca than Hemingway.

Josephs, author of the White Wall of Spain, has an innate understanding of Spain and the Spanish which he imparts to the reader.

Read Hemingway, yes, but Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida is a must read for anyone even vaguely interested in that most Spanish of Spanish phenomena.

As made clear by the subtitle, this is the story of the César Rincón, arguably the best Colombian torero in history, one of the best ever to emerge from the Americas, one of the best -- without respect to origins -- performing anywhere in the second half of the twentieth century.

This is the story of César Rincón the torero (not a biography; we learn little here about César Rincón the man -- quite possibly the only aspect of the book that leaves the reader wishing for more, though we learn plenty about César's view of toreo, his personal take on its hows and whys, the nature and price of the vocation and its demands) who, in 1991, burst onto the taurine scene from nowhere (or, seemingly so -- he was so little known on the day of his first triumph in Madrid that the program listed him as Venezuelan), managing performances that saw him carried out through the Puerta Grande in Las Ventas on four consecutive appearances, a feat unequaled by anyone, before or since.

Just how good was César Rincón? The inescapable impression given by this book is that he was a taurine epiphany:

Josephs is without doubt a full-blooded Rincóncista, but Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida is no tendentiously edited hagiography. The judgments it contains are not just his -- they're from the pens of some of the most important taurine critics of Rincón's day (Andrés de Miguel, Vicente Zabala, Norberto Carrasco, Joaquín Vidal, Michael Wigram and José Carlos Arévalo), writing with Rincon's performances still vivid from the previous days' events. Josephs gives us his eye-witness accounts whenever possible, but generously supplements them with the opinions of other commentators.

This is a stunningly successful book, unlike any taurine work published in English in decades. Without question, Josephs has given us a work that will, for years, sit comfortably alongside the best of Hemingway, the best of Conrad, the best of Fulton and Tynan -- destined to be one of the more re-read works in any taurine bibliophile's library.

Rincón was essentially unknown to Josephs in 1991, and the germ of this book took root slowly as Rincón began to stun the Spanish afición (and Josephs) with his performances during that year's Iberian temporada. The idea for the book chrystalized in the spring of 1992, in Plaza Santa Ana -- a Madrid neighborhood dripping with taurine history and activity -- during a chat with Michael Wigram. Josephs set out to follow Rincón, documenting his career trajectory, from Spain back to the Americas, back to Spain, to the Americas, over and over until the end of the 1995 season when Rincón, suffering from a resurgence of hepatitis "C," announced his retirement, intending to swap the role of torero for that of ganadero.

Written with the aid of unusual access to a torero's inner circle, this is not simply an insider's view of the taurine circuit (as might be, for example, a detailed diary kept by a torero). Josephs didn't travel as part of Rincon's entourage. But it is likely as intimate a view as anyone will soon provide. Josephs shadowed Ricón, his manager and cuadrilla for four years -- benefitting greatly from their assistance, attending every corrida he could manage, describing in great detail what he saw (how the public reacted, and how the authority and critics judged). He had access that only a personal relationship with a torero can provide -- to hotel suites before and after successful and disastrous corridas, to sorteos, to the callejon, to tientas, to family gatherings on ganaderias and in Rincon's home, to hospital/infirmary rooms, to post-corrida de-briefings with critics and ganaderos, and more.

Faenas are described in near photographic detail, both the good, the bad, and the all-too-commonly mundane. Although the degree of taurine detail may prove more-than-a-little daunting for anyone outside or new to the mundo taurino, Josephs has seized on a clever way of avoiding bad translation of taurine terms while simultaneously keeping the narrative clear of repeated explanatory asides. All terms that would not be done justice by clumsy translation into English are left in their Spanish forms, accompanied by explanatory asides only the first time they appear in the text. Supsequent appearances remain in Spanish and an index of defined appearances is provided for readers who didn't absorb the meaning of a term the first time around.

Althouh this is Rincón's saga, Josephs' eyes aren't focused on Rincón alone. Had they been, no proper assessment of Rincón would have been possible. Though bullfighting isn't a contest between matador and bull, one can't really judge a matador's mettle without seeing him alongside his peers, each trying to tease the best out of the unpredictable complexity of the animals drawn each afternoon. Fortunately, Josephs doesn't slight Rincón's rivals (most noteworthy among them, Enrique Ponce and Joselito), giving everyone their due. We're provided a very balanced view of years of performances, the good and the bad, solidly retained in the natural context. To back every judgment we're given dates and locations (no need to take Josephs' word alone for the quality of performances observered; we're everywhere pointed to sources that can confirm the observations made) and detail that could only be noticed by one steeped -- as Josephs is -- in Spanish history and geography, taurine lore and fact.

All this is done without any of the dry, ponderous, academic heaviness that made Josephs' last major work (White Wall of Spain (c) 1983) so nearly impenetrable. Here the writing often seems to dance along with the improvisational pas de deux between Rincón and his partners of the afternoon.

I can't recommend this book too highly.

You will never get a more in depth understanding of the Corrida and its participants than you will from reading Allen Josephs' book,Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida.To understand the last rite on earth that pits wild animal against man, armed only with a sword,in a modern age where little thought is given to the ceremony of ancient rituals, could only be done by a man like Joseph who has devoted his life to exploring the nuances of the bullfight. Joseph is an outsider and so is Cesar Rincon the Columbian matador who he follows, mostly around Spain, for four seasons.It is the devotion of the author and protagonist to the Corrida that gives them a perspective and a story that could never be told by a Spaniard. From poverty, to tragedy, to triumph, the story of Cesar Rincon, has all the ingredients that make a blockbuster movie. The reflections of life embodied in the ritual, persued with the knowledge of the ultimate end, are found in the myth of Sysaphus in his attempt to achieve life's greatest achievement that never comes. Cesar takes you to a place where his mother's spirit is watching over him and his success, and the ever presence of death, is kept at bay because of her as much as it is because of his talent. For those unfamiliar with bull fights Allen takes you step by step through the ritual. The description , unlike so many books that try to sell the uninitiated on the glory of bullfighting, is true to the typical fight. In fact it is not a fight, it is a sacrifice.Hemingway would have wished that he had penned this book.

Boys do not develop emotionally nor psychologically as fast as girls do. Whey did this experience have to happen when he was only 12? It had a lasting effect on his life. Drugs were not the answer to his problems. Yes, there were good times, too! A must to read! True story of his personal life.

What happened to this boy when he was only 12 years old? Then at 18 he was introduced to drugs, which only complicated his already complicated life. Will his heart rendering hopes and dreams ever become a reality? He had lots of friends and did a lot of things in two short years. And then ---. this book will hold your interest. You won't want to put it down until you are finished!

Well written. His true experience held my attention. A fun-loving kid that enjoyed partying with his buddies. First hand info on what drugs did to his life.

This one of the most powerful books about Chief Joseph that i have had the pleasure to read. The stirring narrative from a native Nez Perez,really puts me in the story and makes me very,very angry about the way we have treated Native Americans,Will Henry was one of the most gifted and talented western writers of all time. I wish his books would make a comeback on the bestseller lists.

The book moved me and made me think about the hardships that the Indian peoples went through, especially the Nez Perce. It had lots of neat little points, and a different perspective of Chief Joseph. This was probably the best story that I've read.

This is a wonderful book! Seiss does a first-rate job of concisely introducing the reader to the fundamentals of the Judeo-Christian spiritual content of the Great Pyramid. He does this in a way that is very engaging, and it makes the book hard to put down. It is also easy to read, despite Seiss' use of Victorian English writing, which is another plus. All in all, this is a book that I would highly recommend for anyone interested in studying the spirtual and scientific truths embodied in the Great Pyramid. It is concise, practical, and informative. In other words, it is excellent.

It is ammazing how Seiss reads the physical structure in light of biblical history. The comparison of the dimentions of the Great Pyramid to Scripture and history of Gods' people both Jew and gentile is very thought provoking. I have found that recent findings do not discredit any of Seiss' observations. This just helps to enforce the divine being active in the building of this Great Pyramid as Seiss explains. The nonbeliver will have difficulty not to investigate further.There is very strong EVIDENCE of the divine intervention in the building of the monument. Divine science is displayed or should I say Science before science was discovered is displayed. For those who need proof of a God this book is a strong evidence that can not be overlooked. A must reading for those who wish to see where the divine is active in the physical aspect of man's workings. Another foot print of the almighty creator left on his creation for man to see and ponder on. Seiss is a man who has been blessed with great insight to the workings of God. His book on the Apocalypse also displays this.

Most every researcher and writer on this period has made great use of the State Department Consular and Diplomatic files in the National Archives and other foreign based collections. This makes great sense as the majority of them are literate in English first and Spanish second. It also makes sense because a Mexican reporting to a Mexican does not have to explain "Mexicanness" or things peculiar to his culture. Reporters and travelers for centuries have been doing the comparative bit. That is why people read travel books, to gain insight. The second reason for emphasis on "Yanqui" sources has been access. Many of the participants in the revolution lived very long lives and the political and personal animosities of the time lasted for some forty years after. It was their history, and they were sensitive about Anglos poking around in it. It was not until the 1960s that Pancho Villa himself was officially recognized as a hero of the Revolution, but even then, due to sensitivities, an equestrian statue erected in Chihuahua, and based on a photograph of him, had the features deliberately distorted by the sculptor so as not to be a likeness even though everyone knew the sculpture was in memory of Villa. I understand the files of the Mexican Ministry of Defense have yet to be opened to anyone for research. Fortunately that is not an insurmountable problem as many of the survivors who came out on top kept extensive personal archives. And so many of the dispatches, orders, and reports can be found in them. This is exactly what the author has been able to do. By making use of all the civil and personal archives that he could get to, he has constructed a Mexican view of the events of the time covered. In so doing he has set out to disprove a great misconception held by both the US government and the public that the Carranzista Army forces were not cooperative (which was true) but that they either were complicit or active conspirators in helping hide Villa from Pershing's Punitive Expedition. The author has satisfactorily proven that the latter hypothesis is false. The Carranzistas constantly fought major and minor battles with Villistas but were hampered by a loose system of command, a sometime lack of supplies, and the necessity of garrisoning various towns, thus exposing themselves to the same conditions of vulnerability to surprise attack as the inhabitants of Columbus, NM, had been in. The only major time that Villa was close to capture during this time was after a battle with Carranzistas in which he was greviously wounded in the leg and was an invalid for some months. What has obscured the Carranzista effort has been the unfortunate clash at Carrizal between a detachment of the Tenth Cavalry and the Carranzista garrison which occurred when the US commander insisted on passing through the town to the east in defiance of First Chief Carranza's dictum that the only direction US forces could go was north. The clash ended in the rout of the Tenth's troopers and the death of the Mexican and US commanders. War almost resulted but cooler heads realized that occupation and invasion of all Mexico in pursuit of a band of dispersed raiders was not only ridiculous but unattainable. So the author has done a great service in mining the Mexican records, and tied them together with a general narrative that sets the scene for the detailed story of the period. In addition, he writes with a commendable clarity and preciseness that is often lacking in scholarly works.

As the table of contents show (above), Allen's work is detailed and attuned to the life-giving tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy. As an Orthodox under the direction of a Father, I can attest to the reality of such an approach in tangible terms. Whatever tradition you come from, this book will give you insight into our collective tradition and hopefully encourage you to seek out someone with whom you can struggle and grow. "The man who chooses himself has chosen a fool."

Other books of interest in this regard are: "The Orthodox Way" by Bishop Kallistos Ware, "The Psalms", "A different Christianity" by Robin Amis, "Beginning to Pray" by Archbishop Bloom, and Colliander's classic, "The Way of the Ascetics". Pray. As Bishop Ware has said, the devil says 'tomorrow,' The Holy Spirit says, 'Today!'

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This is a very good book to start out with if you are interested in the Oregon Trail. Tells a great story.

A beautiful collection of Lorca's poetry and artwork, a treasure for anyone who loves his poetry and a brilliant introduction to other those who may be unfamiliar with his work. eva

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