POV

Season 22 Episode 9: Ella es el Matador (She Is the Matador)

For Spaniards — and for the world — nothing has expressed their country's traditionally rigid gender roles more powerfully than the image of the male matador. So sacred was the bullfighter's masculinity to Spanish identity that a 1908 law barred women from the sport. Ella Es el Matador reveals the surprising history of the women who made such a law necessary and offers fascinating profiles of two female matadors currently in the arena: the acclaimed Mari Paz Vega and neophyte Eva Florencia. These women are gender pioneers by necessity. But what emerges as their truest motivation is their sheer passion — for bullfighting and the pursuit of a dream.

Genre:

Documentary

Seasons:

39

Episodes:

523

Cast:

Quality:

HD

Duration:

60 min

First Air:

1988

Rating:

6.9