La Venta del Batán
BULLRING and BULLFIGHTING SCHOOL
Toros bravos took a well-deserved bow when the bullring and bullfighting school was closed down and abandoned.
The bulls had been losing fights for decades but now they finally won the war. Or so they must have thought. It seems there are plans again now to revive la Venta del Batán and the José Cubero “Yiyo” bullfighting school. But we’ll come back to those.
The first bulls arrived at la Venta del Batán in May 1950 and the last left some 65 years later after Manuela Carmena, the mayor of Madrid at the time, ordered the whole thing closed in 2015. The city council allowed the bullfighting school continue as long as no live animals were used anymore, until it finally withdrew funding for the school in 2017.
“These people are taking away our subsidy with the stroke of a pen and want to kick us out of the Venta del Batán, where the school has been for 30 years,” bullfighter Joselito complained at the time. He called it “an outrage and abuse of authority more typical of a dictatorship than of those who claim to be progressive, pursuing freedoms and defending minorities.”
But the school of fighters fought hard – who could have known? – and it seems they got their way. The José Cubero “Yiyo” school returned in November 2021, and now the Community of Madrid regional authority – which took over responsibility for the facility from the city council – has high-falutin’ plans to “modernize” the bullring and the abandoned facilities to “preserve its bullfighting heritage.”
“Bullshit!” say the bulls, and if anyone knows anything about bullshit, it’s bulls.
La Venta del Batán
The sign on the fence outside warns: “Don’t annoy the bulls,” which seems ironic considering la Venta’s purpose.
But the bulls are long gone in any case. The bullpens lie empty, weeds have invaded the spaces between paving stones, the restaurant is idle with the roof collapsing, nothing’s cooking or stirring. The only sign of life is provided by nature reclaiming the space to usurp matadors and strike a blow for the bulls.
Nobody was home in the José Cubero “Yiyo” school, which was adorned by pictures of famous bullfighters from the past and stuffed with bullfighting paraphernalia, weights and fitness equipment. Bulls’ horns were fixed to wheeled contraptions to take the place of actual bulls, and I assume the good students practiced in the adjacent bullring.
The bullring had narrow pens to keep the bulls caged until they were released to fight for their lives by a sort of anti-guillotine lifted from above. (Their heads would only be chopped off later, after the matadors had their fun.)
While it was clear there had been no actual bullfights for some time, the preparations for bullfights and training of matadors continued, with the last signatures in a visitors’ sheet dated just a week before we* called by. There was a car outside the school the next day, so it seems the José Cubero “Yiyo” school is back in use, while the rest of the site is abandoned.
history of la Venta
The area where la Venta was going to be built already had facilities called Cabrerizas since the 1930s, where goats and sheep that grazed in this part of the Casa de Campo were kept. Prior to that, bulls earmarked for bullfights at the San Isidro fair were released here under the watchful eye of local ranchers. The bulls were un-released again when it came time for the fair and their slaughter. So the area had a long history of this kind of thing.
The bullpens of la Venta del Batán were designed in a Castilian-Andalusian style by renowned architect Manuel Herrero Palacios, championed by Madrid mayor José Moreno Torres, the second Count of Santa Marta de Babio, and approved on March 15, 1950.
The work itself took less than two months. The bullpens were opened to the public at 6pm, May 11, 1950, when visitors forked out three pesetas to see the toros bravos.
La Venta del Batán was operated by the same company running Las Ventas in Madrid, probably the most famous bullring in the world. It paid the city council 30,000 pesetas annually to lease the land on a 20-year contract.
It had to put up signs warning people not to try and get the bulls’ attention or throw stones at them. Some visitors couldn’t resist tormenting the magnificent animals who were to have lives of luxury until it came time for their final torment on arguably the greatest bullfighting stage of them all at Las Ventas.
big bull in the room
While we’re on the subject we have to address the big bull in the room – should bullfighting be banned?
Certainly, the matadors, picadors and banderilleros of the José Cubero “Yiyo” bullfighting school say no, as do the aficionados who still go to Las Ventas and other bullrings for exhibitions of their trade. It’s tradition, they say, an intrinsic part of Spain and what it means to be Spanish.
Well, hombres – for it’s nearly all men (though there are chicas too) – just because you’ve done something for hundreds of years doesn’t mean you should keep doing it. If being Spanish means torturing animals before killing them for shits and giggles, then maybe it’s not all that special. Of course, we know there’s much more to it than just that. Spain brought righteous Dios with his message of love and peace pillaging and plundering half the world to liberate it from evil gold and silver without killing anyone at all. Amen.
Back to the bulls. Even if they are treated royally for most of their lives before their brutal ends, the bullfights inflict distress, pain and fear on a stricken animal for entertainment. No amount of spectacle – the music, the beautiful costumes, the colors, the athleticism of the matadors – makes it any less cruel.
It’s no surprise it’s defended by far-right figures who take pleasure from cruelty, people with the mental capacity of idiotic boys pulling wings off a fly, because it makes them feel strong and powerful. They have nothing else.
The bulls would run them out of town if it was a fair fight, but of course it’s never a fair fight. The bull, whose only concern to that point might have been a gorgeous cow, is suddenly flung into a ring to face seven armed humans, two of them sitting on padded horses holding long spikes to stick in his shoulders to force down his head for the kill. Such honor! Such tradition! Olé!
Location and access (How to find guide)
What: La Venta del Batán. Bullpens that were used for keeping toros bravos before they were brought off to be tormented and killed for entertainment at the Las Ventas bullring in Madrid. La Venta is also home to the José Cubero “Yiyo” bullfighting school and a bullring.
Where: Batán, 28011 Madrid, Spain.
How to get there: Hop on a plane to Madrid (avoid Ryanair if you can), and get a metro on line 10 out to Batán. Take the exit for the zoo and the Parque de Atracciones and walk toward the zoo rather than the Parque de Atracciones. You’ll see La Venta del Batán right in front of you. Here it is on a map.
Getting in: The gates are open. Just walk in.
When to go: Go soon before they start bringing bulls back.
Difficulty rating: 3/10. Very easy. The biggest hurdle is getting here from Berlin (or wherever you are). Madrid has other attractions to make the trip worthwhile.
Who to bring: Bring your pet bull if you want to show him that a different, better world is possible, though of course he may grieve for his colleagues who didn’t survive to see this day.
What to bring: Bring some cervezas and bocadillos as there are no Spätis in Batán. Bring your fist for any far-right agitators who may be sniffing around.
Dangers: Thankfully – for their sake and yours – the bulls are gone, but you may run into some humans. Avoid them if you can. The bullfighting school might actually not be abandoned, but clearly someone forgot to lock the door when we* called around on Good Friday. The matadors were probably off praying for absolution.
Many thanks to Mark Rodden for proofreading once again 🐮
*Disclaimer – We refers to I, the author, who may or may not have been on the site, his son, a veteran at this stage, and mother (the niece of a bullfighter) who displayed tremendous courage in sneaking around the bullpens if she was there at all, which is to say maybe none of them were there and none of these words make any sense meaning it’s certain they do not admit liability and are inadmissible in a court of law.
Filed 16/4/2026
