Málaga, Spain, I was offered a free ticket normally 45 euros to attend a bullfight. My Spanish friend Javier asked if I knew the bull would be killed. I was taken aback; I hadn't realized. Seeing my enthusiasm wane, he reassured me that it was a significant part of Spanish culture and worth experiencing at least once.

At the arena, I watched six bulls endure ritualized torment and death before a cheering crowd. It was emotionally jarring a sharp confrontation with cultural tradition and public spectacle. The spectacle was a cultural shock intense and difficult to process. Yet the next day, I returned not to watch the fight, but to engage with those attending and to try to understand their perspectives. Outside the bullring, I found a group staging a peaceful protest. I spent the rest of the day photographing and speaking with them, drawn to their quiet resistance and the complex emotions surrounding the tradition.

This photo essay reflects that tension: between tradition and dissent, celebration and grief. It explores the layered emotional and ethical terrain of bullfighting culture not from a place of judgment, but from a desire to understand, observe, and document.