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Date Published: 25/02/2025

Costa del Sol court overturns ban on controversial dwarf bullfighting event

“Being a clown is an art”, according to the Malaga judge who ruled against the Andalucían government

In a shock decision, a court in Malaga has ruled in favour of the organisers of a bullfighting show that stars people with dwarfism (achondroplasia). The tradition, which is highly controversial, is banned in many parts of Spain and the Junta de Andalucía shut down one such performance in August 2023 in Cortes de la Frontera.

In her ruling, the judge stated that “there is no objective data” that would allow her to establish that the purpose of the participation of people with achondroplasia in bullfighting “is to mock them or their disability.”

On the poster for the 2023 event, which caused a large outcry locally at the time, the dwarf bullfighters were dressed up as clowns.

But the judge argued that “clowning is an art of interpretation, which requires skills such as physical comedy, improvisation, empathy and the ability to connect with the audience, trying to make them laugh.”

Now that the decision made by the Andalucían government to withhold a licence for the show has been revoked, the door has been opened for the company, África Taurina, to make a claim for patrimonial liability.

The Junta banned the performance in Cortes de la Frontera after the Franz Weber Foundation filed a complaint and a claim with the Andalucían Ombudsman, claiming that it was contrary to the Law on the rights of people with disabilities and their inclusion.

The promoter of the bullfight later filed an administrative appeal against the decision, which it considered to be void due to “lack of motivation and violation of fundamental rights.”

In fact, the company and the employees themselves have strenuously argued time and again that it is their human right to choose whatever profession they like.

The judge obviously agreed, because she pointed out that the government failed to “specify the reasons why it is understood that the show, due to the mere fact that people with achondroplasia participate in it, should already be considered to have the purpose of mocking these artists simply for suffering from the aforementioned disease.”

But it’s a grey area. Although the law prohibits shows in which people with disabilities are used to provoke ridicule, this does not necessarily mean that any activity in which they participate “is a show that intends to provoke ridicule of the person with a disability.”

In other news: Passport of missing New York banker found in Estepona weeks after disappearance

Image: Flickr

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