Antonio Boalis

Photographer
 
Matanza, Spain
Location: Malaga, Spain
Nationality: Spanish
Biography: BIO Antonio Boalis is a documentary photographer from Spain. In the period 2009 - 2018 he worked as wedding photographer in Malaga, Spain . His stage name is a tribute to Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese), where he learned the fundamentals of... MORE
Public Story
Matanza, Spain
Copyright Antonio Boalis 2024
Updated Jun 2023
Location Spain
Topics Abuse, Animal, Animal rights, Animals, Black and White, Carnage, Celebrations, Community, Crime, Documentary, Emotion, Environment, Essays, Ethic, Fear, Fine Art, Food, Journalism, Oppression, Photography, Photojournalism, Pig, Rape, Reportage, Rural, Slaughter, Spain, Texture, Travel, Typical, Violence, World
* Texto en español más abajo.

ENGLISH

"Matanza" is the Spanish word for the act of slaughtering a pig for later consumption. Of unknown origin, it was already practiced in the Middle Ages and is widespread throughout much of Europe, Asia and some Latin American countries, such as Mexico or Argentina.

In rural Spain it is typical to carry out a "matanza" in any important celebration that takes place during the winter. The animal is fed with quality products throughout the year, especially in the last months, coinciding with the fall of the acorn, to then be slaughtered between December and February.

A part of the pork is cooked and consumed the same day and with the rest of the meat sausages are made to be eaten all year round. The "matarife" (slaughterer in Spanish) is the person who cuts the neck of the animal while the rest of the group holds the creature, until it bleeds to death. The pig is not given any sedative or anesthesia, as they would remain in its flesh. The grunts that the animal emits during its sacrifice are not easy to forget.

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Witnessing the act of animal suffering that is the slaughter of a pig and finding ourselves in Spain, it is impossible not to think about the debate on bullfighting that was established several years ago in the country, with a great political charge and that therefore divides society.

Among the detractors, in their majority of progressive tendency, the argument of animal abuse is exposed. Among those who support the so-called "national festival", mainly of a conservative tendency, one of the main arguments defended is that the greatest representatives of national art and history, such as Goya and Picasso, immortalized the figure of the bull in many of their works.

Out of curiosity I researched about it and was surprised to discover that both artists also included the pig in some of their works. Perhaps then the suffering of this animal has not permeated Spanish society because it lacks political connotations, at least without resorting to the literary figure of the simile.


Photographer in Malaga, Costa del Sol, Spain



ESPAÑOL

"Matanza" es el acto de sacrificar a un cerdo para su posterior consumo. De origen desconocido, se practicaba ya en el medievo y está extendida por gran parte de Europa, Asia y algunos paises de América Latina, como México o Argentina.

En la España rural es típico realizar una "matanza" en cualquier celebración importante que tenga lugar en el invierno. El animal se alimenta con productos de calidad durante todo el año, especialmente en los últimos meses, coincidiendo con la caída de la bellota, para luego ser sacrificado entre diciembre y febrero.

Una parte del cerdo se cocina y consume el mismo día y con el resto se elaboran embutidos para consumir todo el año. El matarife es la persona que corta el cuello del animal mientras el resto del grupo lo agarra, hasta que muere desangrado. Al cerdo no se le aplica ningún tipo de sedante o anestesia, ya que quedarían en su carne. Los gruñidos que emite el animal durante su sacrificio no son fáciles de olvidar.

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Presenciando el acto de sufrimiento animal que es la matanza de un cerdo y encontrándonos en España, surgen paralelismos con el debate sobre la tauromaquia, que se instauró hace varios años en el país, con una gran carga política y que por tanto divide a la sociedad.

Entre los detractores, en su mayoría de tendencia progresista, se expone el argumento del maltrato animal. Entre quienes apoyan la llamada "fiesta nacional", principalmente de tendencia conservadora, uno de los principales argumentos defendidos es que máximos representantes del arte y la historia nacionales, como Goya y Picasso, inmortalizaron la figura del toro en muchas de sus obras.

Por curiosidad investigué al respecto y me sorprendió descubrir que ambos artistas también incluyeron al cerdo en algunas de sus obras. Quizás entonces el sufrimiento de este animal no haya calado en la sociedad española por carecer de connotaciones políticas, al menos sin recurrir a la figura literaria del símil.


Fotógrafo en Costa del Sol, Málaga, Andalucía, España

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