Los sorias by Alberto Laiseca - Chapter 15

 




Chapter 15
The Bullfight

Several times a year in Soria, the Soria people organized festivals in which at least one iseka was the main guest. Inside an immense amphitheater, built entirely of solidified lava, the iseka was thrown naked into the center while the Soria people, from the stands, applauded his circus.
The matador appeared through a door. He advanced covered in soft, floating red glazes. Through the transparencies, his tight-fitting black garments could be seen, with countless silver discs sewn on them at intervals. This gave the appearance of large moles (like the finery of gypsy women), whose brilliance was instantly obscured by the mists of a reddish cloud. They looked like hundreds of Rhinegolds from another planet. He stepped majestically into the arena. The Soria was extremely skilled, since he knew karate, judo, and everything else. The iseka could do nothing but flee until he was exhausted. Then the Soria would grab him and stick the first little flag in his mouth, with the inscription: "You must die so the festival can live." Then came the pecking of new flags and the iseka bleeding. Finally—while the Soria girls opened their blouses to show their breasts, driven mad by lust, and, in return, the Soria men rushed at them to urinate on their breasts—the iseka's spinal cord was severed with a sword. Then he was dragged away by the four traditional mules with violet ribbons.
These popular festivals were organized by the Jury of the Cuadrilla, who appointed a Steward.
The Soriator rarely left the Nibelungen cloister he had imposed on himself. However, this unusual ruler, who never left the Soria Palace even to inaugurate a bridge, a destroyer, or a new industrial complex, unshaken by fires, earthquakes, and disaster zones, used to attend two or three Iseka bullfights a year.
The Single Union of Juries of the Cuadrilla de Soria named him Steward, honorary, and Perpetual Matador. These titles greatly magnified the man from Soria. Near the arena, at the beginning of the stands, he had a throne all to himself, protected by armor and force fields. From there, he watched the matches unobserved.

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