All The Fun Of The Feria at Dax; marching bands, red cravats and Greek wine

Problem
What do I wear to the fair at Dax in France? (Annual fair in August, with bull fights. If you missed this year, consider booking for next year.)

Answer
Tourists and locals buy red cravats and red belts to wear with white clothes. This creates a feeling of unity, jollity and festivity.

The website tells you to bring white clothes. People wear white trousers or shorts and white blouses. The red cravat you can buy with the words Dax La Feria is triangular. The red belt is a tie belt, a long oblong which you tie with a double knot and one end hanging down long.

At the bull fight when the fight ends the riders make the horses step sideways around the ring with the horses' heads towards the audience. The audience stand and wave the triangular red cravats.

Glossary
English - French - Spanish
English Fair / festival - French fête - Spanish la feria - Portuguese a festa / feira

Videos To Watch
You tube has a video of the opening ceremony in the bullring or arena, showing everybody waving red cravats and red and yellow flags:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR8XTKvJlyY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR_Cc-5W47M&t=0s

This video shows the thousands of people in the street singing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSzo73f_xtQ

The closing music is the song Vino Griego, meaning Greek Wine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87cAtrts5A0

Here are marching bands, folklore groups, a man wrapped in a tuba, what look like bagpipes carried by a band in black, musical instrument like wind up musical boxes operated by turning a handle (I once saw a busker in London's underground using one and thought, that's for me, don't have to learn to play music, just turn the handle, but the giant music box turned out to cost over £1000!) Resembles the Rio carnival, all costumes as well as music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYMkHs6Phy0

If you understand French, a video in the cathedral shows all the bands celebrating Mass, and the curé (vicar, curate?) explaining the gifts of cravats. I understood from the voice over and his response that he had given gifts of the red Dax cravats to everybody attending the mass, but at the video end it appears that people thanking him are tying around his neck cravats of green and other colours to reciprocate.

The festivities end with fireworks. Another video shows the fireworks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTZOodACeiM

Information on museums, events and tourism in France:
http://www.dax-tourisme.com
http://uk.france.fr
Accommodation and attractions can also be found on
Tripadvisor
Google maps

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. I have several posts on Dax. Please share links to your favourite posts.

What's The Difference Between Spanish and Portuguese Bullfighting?

Problem
What's the difference between Spanish and Portuguese bullfighting?

Answer
I was under the impression that Spanish style bull fighting took place in Spain and involved killing the bull, and that Portuguese style bull fighting took place in Portugal where it was forbidden to kill the bull.

Story
However,  a member of my family has just returned from seeing a bullfight at the arena in Dax in the South West of France, near the border with Spain. It is inland but near the coast. You can see the Pyranees.

At the event, you can watch both Spanish and Portuguese style bull fighting which took place at the same venue on the same day, one event.

This is what he told me:

The main difference is that the highlight of the Spanish bull fight is a man with a cloak on foot fighting the bull. The Portuguese bull fight features mostly riders on horseback.

Three terms you need to know
MATADOR (From Wiki:) A torero (matador de toros) is the central bullfighter who must kill the bull.
Dictionary:
PICADOR/someone who pushes sharp sticks into bulls (= male cows ) during a bullfight

TOREADOR -

toreador Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/toreador

toreador meaning, definition, what is toreador: a person, usually a man, who takes part in a bullfight riding a horse. 

Toreador | Define Toreador at Dictionary.com

www.dictionary.com/browse/toreador

noun. 1. a bullfighter. Word Origin. C17: from Spanish, from torear to take part in bullfighting, from toro a bull, from Latin taurus; compare steer.

You may recall the song: "Toreador ..." from the opera Carmen by Bizet.

HORSES
PORTUGUESE
The Portuguese make the horses dance and jump on their hind legs. "The Portuguese horses (with riders) are charged by the bull. The horses are blindfolded!"

The horses sense the approach of the bull. (They must hear it and maybe feel the vibrations underfoot.)

"The horses don't turn tail and run. They don't retreat. They react by moving sideways, walking sideways, I say walking, but it is so fast, that they escape being attacked even when the bull is inches away, so close - two inches from the horse.

It's is the skill of the rider, the co-ordination of the rider and his horse.

SPANISH
The Spanish version also has two mounted picadors at the start of each event. The picadors wave cloaks to attract the bull. (Bulls are colour blind. Red is simply for the human audience.)

The horses are protected with padding, canvas reinforced, which drapes. One engages the bull briefly. The bull tries to lift the horse, but can't. The horses are blindfolded. The other doesn't engage with the bull. The idea is to weaken the bull.

A Spanish horseman, a mounted picador, plants a pick from above into the bull's back.

After the picadors have waved their cloaks, for about six or seven minutes, they withdraw to let the matador take over. The final fight takes about twenty minutes.

Once the bull is weakened, the toreador puts his hand on the head of the bull.

FEMALE BULL FIGHTER
One bull fighter was a woman. A famous female bull fighter. She fought two of the bulls. She as awarded the highest honour for one of her two fights. Her name is Léa.

JUDGING
The Portuguese judging panel can grant or award nothing, one ear, two ears, or two ears and the tail.

THE END
The fight consisted of six bulls being killed in two and a half hours. The bull falls on its side, twitching, with blood falling out of the mouth.

The 'coup de grace' - not just my name, that's the official name for it, is from a dagger. The man cuts the bull's throat from behind, until the animal stops moving. Two horses with wooden frames drag the bull off.

At the end of each fight there's a red trail of blood. Workers come in to re-dress the sand.

I asked,
"Would you go to a bull fight again?"

"No. I saw 12 bulls killed. It was gruesome."

"Did you see any signs of opposition to the bullfight?"

"No. It's part of the local celebration, the local annual fair, like ours in Pinner. (The annual Pinner fair in London when Pinner is closed to traffic for a fun fair and market stalls.) It's their tradition. If you don't like bull fights, you don't go."

What are the souvenirs?
You can buy posters from previous years and books in French and Spanish on famous bull fights and full fighting in general.

Dax in France
The bull fight took place in Dax. (D not B. D for Delta.) The bull fight is part of the events organised for the annual August fair, in French fête, or in Spanish feria. The festivities include street food and a funfair for children.

Websites For Tourist Boards and Information
FRANCE
http://uk.france.fr/en/information/
http://www.dax-tourisme.com/en/discover-dax/party-town.php
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g196507-Dax_Landes_Nouvelle_Aquitaine-Vacations.html

SPAIN
http://www.spain.info/en_GB/informacion-practica/oficinas-turismo-embajadas/turismo-exterior/oficina_de_turismo_en_londres.html
PORTUGAL
https://www.visitportugal.com/en
BULL FIGHTING
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.