Plaza De Toros in Ronda

It was a music video by Madonna (Take A Bow) that made Ronda's bullring famous with young people world wide . The song had nothing to do with bullfighting but the video did feature a real bullfighter, Emilio Muñoz, and some nifty aerial views of the historic bullring of Ronda.

Ronda is considered the birthplace of modern bullfighting and its bullring was famous even before Madonna. It was here in the 16th century that Philip II established the Real Maestranza de Caballeria, a training facility for developing horsemanship. Equestrian training has its roots in the Middle Ages when horse skills were essential in battle. Bulls, willing to charge at the mounted horse, served as a way of training the horse and its rider. Horses are still used today in bullfights but in the 1700's it became fashionable to de mount the horse and face the bull, man to.....bull. In Ronda, Fransisco Romero added the sword and cape to the event, creating the style of bullfighting found all over Spain today.

After checking out the bullring you can also visit the stables and the bullfighting museum, both are part of the bullring complex.