(click
this LINK for the 2008 Tijuana bullfight schedule)
The 2008 season starts May 25.
BULLFIGHTS IN TIJUANA
Our Club Taurino de Chula Vista is fortunate to have ready
access to two first class rings in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
Here is some information for folks who live north of the border and are
planning a first trip to the bull fights in Tijuana.
Note: The downtown ring (El Toreo) has been demolished
(as of 2007 season). The comments about El Toreo in the following are
maintained for historical purposes and because the web master is too lazy to
change the write ups.
BACKGROUND
The season (temporada) runs approximately from May through October; bullfights are always on Sunday afternoons and usually at
4:00PM
and usually held every other Sunday throughout the season.
It is always a good idea to confirm the events before making a special
trip. You can call in Tijuana 011-52-66-86-10 or 011-52-66-38-64 or send
email to this web site. There is a pretty good chance you will
get an English speaking person at the above numbers (if language is a
problem for you).
There are two bull rings in Tijuana: the downtown bull ring (El Toreo) and
the bull ring by the sea (Monumental). Usually, the events from May
until mid-July are held at El Toreo and the remainder of the season at
Monumental.
GETTING THERE
There are many ways of getting from the border to the arenas. One
straight forward way is via bus from downtown San Diego. Check with
Five Star Tours at 619-232-5049 where you can also buy tickets
to the bullfight. Many
people drive themselves (although, be advised, that since Sept 11
border waits are sometimes more than an hour ). If you decide to drive
make sure you buy Mexican auto insurance before crossing into Mexico and
you can find directions at
bullfights.org.
Most of us prefer to park on the US side of the border crossing at San
Ysidro (about $6-$10 for a day at any of the numerous parking lots) and
either walk across or take the bus. Once across the border there are
many yellow taxis available that will take your party to either ring for
about $10 (mas o menos). There are always taxis at the downtown
plaza waiting for customers. This is not the case at
Monumental (the plaza by the sea).
The Mexicoach bus is a lower cost option and these buses are usually
waiting on the US side next to the San Diego trolley station right at the
border crossing. The Mexicoach (about $1.50) will take you to
downtown Tijuana on Ave Revolution where you can buy tickets to the
bullfight and another bus ride out to the plaza. The bus will be waiting
after the bullfight to take you back to the border.
GETTING TICKETS
As mentioned above, tickets can be purchased at the bus stations.
However, they do not always have the best seats available. Recently,
Five Star Tours offers tickets for sale via their web site at
http://www.tjbullfight.com
To get front row
(or near front row) it is usually necessary to go to the ticket offices at the
bull rings themselves. (At the time of this writing there is some
talk of buying tickets and reservations ahead of time via phone to the
numbers listed above. We have no hard confirmation that this
approach actually works but it is worth a try). Unless there is a
really special program (cartel), one can usually get front row seats by
arriving at the ticket office by noon on the day of the bullfight.
For bullfights worldwide, tickets are sold according to "sunny
side (sol)" or "shady side (sombra)". Shady is more
expensive. The first ten rows above the ring are called "barreras"
in spanish and rows 11 through 20 are "tendidos preferentes".
General admission with non-reserved open seating is available above row
20. Ticket prices range from around $70 (worst case) for first row
to about $14 general admission on the sunny side.
Box seats for 4 people (palcos) are also available for roughly $50
to $75 each person.
BEING COOL
If you are sure you can not stand the sight of blood and seeing a bull die
then don't go.
If you arrive early to buy good tickets then you will have a lot of time
to kill before the gates open at around 3:30PM. You can go to the
"sorteo" for free at noon to see the preliminaries involving the
sorting of bulls among the toreros. Ask someone at the ticket office
where to go.
If you are at the downtown ring (El Toreo) ask directions to the Hotel
Palacio Azetca which is a short walk from the ring. Here aficionados
gather before and after the event for drinks and socializing and to watch
the matadors and their teams depart to the ring.
The plaza by the sea (Monumental) has a number of restaurants nearby and
one can always do a stroll on the boardwalk along the beach. A word
of caution about Monumental: it is difficult to get a taxi for the return
ride from the plaza back to the border crossings. Hence, one should
consider the bus options mentioned above or be sure to leave the bullfight
a bit early to catch one of the few taxis that may be waiting for
customers.
Hope you enjoy the "corrida" and please contact
us if you would like to join the club and learn more.
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