Josie Sharp
A ROW has broken out in northern Spain over a proposal to build a massive 300-metre-high statue of a bull.
Politicians from far-right Vox in Burgos are backing the project, put forward by the Spanish Academy of Bullfighting – but need the support of their Partido Popular (PP) coalition partners to give the proposal the green light.
The Vox deputy mayor of Burgos, Fernando Martinez-Acitores, believes the city should be home to a 300-metre-high bull monument after Madrid rejected the project.
Burgos already has a World Heritage Site in its famous Gothic cathedral, but the politician believes this giant bull could be a ‘great emblem’ and a ‘claim’ for the city.
The colossal project would be triple the height of the iconic 112-metre cathedral, a legacy left by architects Diego de Siloé and Juan de Colonia in 1221.
The proposed bull would be amongst the Casa de Cordon, the statute of El Cid, the Museum of Human Evolution, the Paseo del Espolon and the Arco de Santa María.
The far-right party is urging its scandal-ridden PP coalition partner to support the possibility of the project in Burgos, which needs approval from both parties.
The Spanish Academy of Bullfighting will cover all construction costs – they just need the City Council to provide ‘administrative facilities and an available plot.’
Vox have suggested a plot that has been dedicated to building football fields, saying ‘it could be allocated to a project with greater tourist and economic impact’
The former mayor and leader of the loca; PSOE branch, Daniel de la Rosa, said he thought the news was ‘a joke’ when it first heard it.
He said: “In my 14 years at the City Council of Burgos I have never heard such a crazy suggestion as the one that Vox has made publicly.”
The Spanish Academy of Bullfighting has claimed the ‘bull of Spain’ could become a national symbol similar to France’s Eiffel Tower, America’s Statue of Liberty or Italy’s Roman Colosseum.
The spokeswoman for the Burgos animal rights association ProAnBur, Judith Sanchez, launched a scathing attack on the proposal, saying: “Considering the controversy that exists in our country about bullfighting, it seems concerning to want to impose a symbol that represents torture and animal abuse.”
Bullfighting is banned in the autonomous regions of Catalunya and the Canary Islands, but is considered cultural heritage in other regions like Seville, Santander and Madrid.
The application has not been formally submitted to the local government, but Vox is urging the PP to take the verbal proposal seriously.
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