topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2270.63 -0.42
DAX 6788.8 0.59
IBEX 30 8902.1 0.60
CAC 40 3424.71 0.43
FTSE 100 5895.47 0.33
AEX 325.12 -0.06
DJIA 12890.46 0.05
Nasdaq 2927.23 0.39
FTSE MIB 16653.83 -0.09
TSX Composite 12497.94 -0.18
ASX 4322.6 -0.79
Hang seng 20756.97 -1.20
Straits Times 2961.12 -0.67
ISEQ 20 503.71 0.33
You are here: Home News Spanish News Pop idol Alaska bares all to defend Europe's bulls
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


05/06/2008Pop idol Alaska bares all to defend Europe's bulls

Pop idol Alaska bares all to defend Europe's bulls The singer joins forces with British animal rights group PETA to protest against bullfighting.

5 June 2008

MADRID -  Following on the heels of Pamela Anderson and Dita von Teese, Alaska, the Spanish diva of the 1980s cultural movement known as la  movida, is baring her body for the latest campaign by the British animal rights group PETA.

An idealised poster depicting her like a 1940s pin-up girl shows Alaska in the nude with three bullfighting banderillas (thorny spikes used to goad the bull) stuck in her back. The caption reads: "La verdad al desnudo: la tauromaquia es cruel" (The naked truth: bullfighting is cruel).

"It would have been easy to create a terrible, heartrending photograph, but by creating a beautiful one you create even more distress," said the 44-year-old singer and actress at the campaign presentation in Madrid.

Alaska - born Olvido Gara Jova in Mexico City to a Spanish father and Cuban mother - admitted that she has no bullfighter friends, but that she is almost the daughter of one because her mother's first husband was a matador.

"I was born and raised around bullrings, I saw bullfights and I was inside bullpens until the age of 10. It was a natural thing to me back then, and look at me now, it horrifies me," she said.

The singer said that she is unconvinced by economic and cultural arguments in favour of bullfighting. "The main argument should be the animal's suffering. Besides, cultural customs should evolve too. Otherwise, I would be burning at the stake right now and you would be at home doing the dishes."

The poster was released just a day before pro- and anti-bullfighting groups were due to speak at the European Parliament.

Luis de Grandes, a representative for the first group, which is backed by the European Popular Party, said their aim is to show that bullfighting "is not a synonym of cruelty, but a premier cultural event."

Meanwhile Raúl Romeva, a European MP for the second group, which is supported by Los Verdes green party, said that torturing an animal "cannot be defended from the same framework from which one defends Spanish gastronomy or art," and added that bullfighting is not accepted the same way across Spain, a reference to Catalonia, where there is a strong anti-bullfighting movement and a campaign is on to shut down Barcelona's bullring, La Monumental.

[El Pais / Elena G. Sevillano / S.U. / Expatica]


2 reactions to this article

c. maas posted: 2008-06-08 14:26:58

We all care about the bulls but please know that the most suffering is by those beautiful defenseless horses used ruthlessly and thoughtlessly for the glory of the vain ambitious men so they can prance around their villages as if god´s gift to mankind. The horses are as intelligent as humans and extremely conscious of the danger and their own powerlessness
due to the reigns, their entrapment and blind fold. All of them die of a heart attack and blown up blood veins are induced by stress and fear.

i-live-2-ride posted: 2008-06-13 15:43:47

I feel for the poor cow, but if she would lose a few pounds and get those stupid arrows removed from her back and quit posing nude, she just might find a man to give her the attention she obviously craves.

As for the, hahaha, sport of Bullfighting, I think it is about as entertaining as when the Beduoins play 'polo' with a sheep's head... It's stupid, and the fact that they can gather crowds to watch it... well of course Madonna still draws crowds, so obviously there are plenty of idiots out there with cash just looking to blow it on something.

A note to c. maas... "...horses are as intelligent as humans...?" You speak volumes about your own intelligence with a statement like that (please think before you whinny). So then, you're suggesting that if not for our opposable thumbs we might be subjugated by the equine (horse) species - instead of the other way around? You've obviously spent too much time eating whacky mushrooms from the cow pasture. Hey but don't feel bad. I heard some Hollywood star once say '...well dogs are people too.'

2 reactions to this article

c. maas posted: 2008-06-08 14:26:58

We all care about the bulls but please know that the most suffering is by those beautiful defenseless horses used ruthlessly and thoughtlessly for the glory of the vain ambitious men so they can prance around their villages as if god´s gift to mankind. The horses are as intelligent as humans and extremely conscious of the danger and their own powerlessness
due to the reigns, their entrapment and blind fold. All of them die of a heart attack and blown up blood veins are induced by stress and fear.

i-live-2-ride posted: 2008-06-13 15:43:47

I feel for the poor cow, but if she would lose a few pounds and get those stupid arrows removed from her back and quit posing nude, she just might find a man to give her the attention she obviously craves.

As for the, hahaha, sport of Bullfighting, I think it is about as entertaining as when the Beduoins play 'polo' with a sheep's head... It's stupid, and the fact that they can gather crowds to watch it... well of course Madonna still draws crowds, so obviously there are plenty of idiots out there with cash just looking to blow it on something.

A note to c. maas... "...horses are as intelligent as humans...?" You speak volumes about your own intelligence with a statement like that (please think before you whinny). So then, you're suggesting that if not for our opposable thumbs we might be subjugated by the equine (horse) species - instead of the other way around? You've obviously spent too much time eating whacky mushrooms from the cow pasture. Hey but don't feel bad. I heard some Hollywood star once say '...well dogs are people too.'

Discussion Forums

English in Spain

Public (free) primary schools in Barcelona + surrounding areas.

Jobs in Spain

IFAs / FSIs / Country Managers / Confidential Introducers

Community Noticeboard Spain

Barcelona-stay updated!

Housing in Spain

Sitges, Barcelona - 5 Bedroom Villa € 1,150,000 For Sale

Jobs in Spain

“Silicon Valley Comes to Barcelona”, 24th Feb 2012

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Editor's Guide: Getting Started in Spain

Editor's Guide: Getting Started in Spain

Expatica's Getting Started section will provide practical information on how you can open a bank account, exchange your driving licence, improve your Spanish, and more.

Groups and Clubs in Madrid

Groups and Clubs in Madrid

Here's a guide to an extensive list of groups and clubs in Madrid for expats, from sports groups to social and family gatherings.

Groups and Clubs around Spain

Groups and Clubs around Spain

A brief introduction to our Tax section for Spain, from help with inheritance tax to accounting advice.

Groups and Clubs in Barcelona

Groups and Clubs in Barcelona

Here's a short introduction to our Banking section for those living in Spain, from what to ask the experts to opening a Spanish bank account.