Toro de la Vega

The festival has been held annually since 1524 with limited intermissions.[5] The first recorded reference of bulls in relation to religious festivals in the region was mentioned in sacramental texts dating to 1534.[6] During the rule of General Francisco Franco, the tournament was banned for a period of four years in Francoist Spain.[5] In 1964, Franco sent soldiers to the town in an attempt to stop the festival but a bull was still released; the two lancers who claimed victory in that year's Toro de la Vega were imprisoned and beaten.[5] The festival's treatment of bulls diminished Franco's reputation abroad during the 1960s.[4] In 1993 and 1995, respectively, two bulls were pardoned by the townspeople for being able to escape.[6]

The rise of animal rights activism in Spanish bullfighting has generated increased notoriety around the festival.[7] The tournament has, as of 2019, been partially funded by revenues and government subsidies.[8] The town council itself purchases bulls wholesale for the tournament, paying €6,000 for a bull in 2015.[5] In September 2015, during the annual festivities, more than 10,000 locals protested against the Toro de la Vega in Madrid's Puerta del Sol.[5] That year a variety of Spanish actors and musicians attended an "alternative and bloodless" bull run in Tordesillas to support animal rights activism.[5] During that year's festival journalists J. Jiménez Gálvez and Antonio Lorca, both writing for El País, criticized supporters of the festival for comparing it to non-violent bullfighting or bull-running.[9][10]

In May 2016, the regional government of Castile and León banned the killing of the bulls.[8] The local Tordesillas government disapproved of the ruling and cautioned regional legislators that they would "not be welcome" in the town.[8] The decision was widely denounced by town officials with the mayor promising to appeal and overturn the ruling.[8] Local protests followed with banners reading Tordesillas no se rinde (Tordesillas isn't giving in).[11] After the regional ban was passed, the ritual converted into a traditional encierro (bull run); it was rebilled as the Toro de la Peña (Bull of [Virgin Mary]).[3][4] The first bull to survive the festival "in centuries" was 640 kg Pelado (aged five), during the September 2016 festival.[12][4] In March 2019, the Spanish Supreme Court upheld a lawsuit by animal rights activists in Madrid, effectively banning public bull-killing.[2] During the lawsuit, the local council in Tordesillas argued that the event was critical to their town's culture, with "40,00 fans attending the event [compared to] 100 animal activists."[2]

The tournament consists of hundreds of lancers chasing – either by foot or on horseback – a bull through town streets, corralling it into an open area such as a meadow.[7][8] In the town of Tordesillas, the bull is typically chased into the riverfront area of River Duero.[7] Once the bull has been drawn out away from town, it is typically killed by spearing.[7] The throwing of spears or lances is strictly prohibited as is the operation of motor vehicles.[5][6] If the bull surpasses the limits of the tournament, or the lancers are not able to kill it, it will be pardoned.[13] This includes if the bull escapes the territorial limits of the town.[5] The winner of the tournament is the person who inflicts the mortal wound on the bull, bringing it to its knees.[5] Following that, an accredited supervisor cuts the neck of the bull in a mercy killing.[5] Participants can be fined up to €9,000 for breaking town ordinances and laws during the festival.[6] Lancers who attempt to kill the bull are subject to arrest.[4] Since the late 2010s, amid growing animal rights concerns, the tournament has featured a running of the bulls without the customary killing at the end.[7]

The bull must weigh 500 kg and be between four and seven years old in order to participate in the festival.[5]

The festivities are typically held annually in early September, on the second Tuesday of the month alongside the Virgen de la Peña religious festivals.[4] It is most often held on 14 September.[9]

During the tournament the town of Tordesillas' population doubles from 9,000 to 18,000.[14]

The historical name of the tournament is Toro de la Vega, Spanish for "bull of the meadow"; the namesake of the regional geography of Tordesillas.[11] The name Toro de la Peña derives its significance from the town's patron saint, the Virgen de la Peña (Virgin Mary); collectively, "Bull of [Virgin Mary]".[11] When literally translated Toro de la Peña is noted as "Bull of the Rock".[12]

The name was changed in 2016 after cumulative societal discontent with bull-killing.[11]

The winner of the contest are themselves named after the festival; they are known as the "bull of the meadow".[6]

• Anti-bullfighting city
• Running of the bulls
• Spanish-style bullfighting