Kate del Castillo and Other Celebrities Call for the end of Bullfighting in Mexico After its Return

Mexican actress Kate del Castillo published a deeply emotional a video on Friday, showcasing her ongoing commitment to combat bullfighting in Mexico. This comes as the activity resumed on Sunday, January 28, after being suspended for over a year and a half due to a judicial injunction.

"Bullfights are a stain on Mexico's reputation, the country where I was born, where I grew up. Once they come to an end, I am confident that we will all have another reason to celebrate, and all of this will become history," she expressed, visibly moved.

And continued: "Every animal is someone, and no one deserves to be tortured to death. We won't stop until this bloody 'sport' is canceled in Mexico, throughout the entire country."

The video was published after a federal judge ruled to suspend bullfights in Mexico City, less than a week after the "Fiesta Brava" made its return. However, on Friday a judicial ruling determined that bullfights will be allowed to take place at the Plaza Mexico next Sunday, February 4, and Monday, February 5.

A federal judge had banned bullfighting in June 2022, but the ruling was overturned by the country's Supreme Court of Justice, and the "Plaza de Mexico" set nine dates for the spectacle that excites many and scandalizes many others, especially animal rights activists and environmentalists.

On Sunday, they protested at the doors of the stadium where more than 40,000 people attended. For many, besides mistreating animals, it promotes violence in a country where 30,523 homicides were documented only in 2023.

Del Castillo shared that a bullfighter failed three times in attempting to kill the bull this Sunday. "They had to drag the bull out of the arena, still alive! Only to be slaughtered behind closed doors afterward. I can't even imagine the suffering that poor animal endured," she recounted.

She also celebrated the federal judge's decision to suspend bullfighting in an Instagram post, accompanied by the message, 'Bullfighting is not 'culture.' It's torture.' Similarly, the renowned TUDN journalist David Faitelson expressed the same sentiment on his X account, formerly Twitter.

"Bulls (bullfighting) have nothing to do with freedom and democracy. Let's not fall into the cheap and contradictory demagogy of those who defend the massacre of a living being. Ultimately, they are vulgar, sadistic, immoral, and sick individuals," he wrote.

In recent years, many artists and celebrities have shown their opposition to bullfighting, including Sofía Sisniega, Sherlyn, María Celeste Arrarás, Marco Antonio Regil, Michelle Renaud, and the actor Eugenio Derbez.

Derbez, a Mexican comedian, expressed on X, "Such traditions are inhumane, they are absurd, that's why the Roman circus also disappeared... There are many other ways to have fun without having to harm a living being."

Actress and singer Dulce María also expressed her indignation. "As a Mexican, I tell you, there are incredibly beautiful traditions worth promoting that transcend generations, but there are things, I believe, as human beings, we evolve in consciousness," she said.