Well it’s that time of year again – time for Pampalona’s historic, albeit a bit crazy – annual running of the bulls.  This past Monday there were four injuries, including one goring.  And this doesn’t consider the bulls. Psst! It never goes well for the bulls! I am sorry to say.  All of this needless-to-say relates to ancient bull myths, labyrinths, and minotaurs.

So let’s talk about something else, something equally Spanish, and perhaps (I’m sorry) equally crazy. I was really drawn on Monday to this gorgeous photo from Reuters showing the annual (and in Spain when they talk annual, they’re talking 400 years of annual) of this year’s “Rapa das Bestas,” the annual round up of wild horses.  Round up for what, you ask.  The horse are rounded up, wrestled bare-handed to the ground (8<{) and then had their manes and tails sheared.  The horse are then deloused and returned to the wild.  This occurs throughout the villages of Spain’s northwestern region of Galicia.

Like bull running and bull fighting, La Rapa das Bestas has its origins in ancient mythology and antiquated view of the relationship between man and animals.  It comes from earlier (if you watch the news you’ll realize why I can’t say more brutal times).  It is, not surprisingly very controversial.  The photograph is really well done, and like Picasso’s drawings of bulls, it truly raises the question of how something cruel can be seen as an expression of manhood and art,  It points to a quintessential ambiguity about what we see as “beautiful.”