Inside the Barrier

On 28 October 2024, in Massamagrell, a spectator sat on a hammock behind a wooden barrier during a bou embolat. Castellón Diario reported that the bull’s head became wedged between the boards and that the man was corneado and burned before other attendees pulled him to safety. The barrier remained the immediate setting of the injury: a structure intended to separate the event from those watching it became the point at which the bull and spectator met.

Embolador Emilio Ferrer described the sequence that preceded the release. The bull was tied to a post while iron herrajes were placed on its horns and the balls were prepared. Five people were normally needed to embolar the animal, Ferrer said, although three could be enough. He described the herrajes as made from very resistant iron and said cotton or esparto could be used for the balls. Once the balls were lit, the rope was cut and the bull was released.

That sequence occupied a defined place in the Valencian Community’s legal record. The Generalitat Valenciana’s 2015 decree regulates traditional bull festivities known as bous al carrer, and its annex gives bou embolat a separate section as one of the recognized modalities. The DOGV text also addresses technical elements including barriers, closing systems, and diversion installations. The regulation therefore names both the practice and the physical arrangements through which people, animals, and movement are organized.

The record reached a different consequence in Borriol in 2025. El Periòdic reported that the bull Armada agonized for several hours before dying in the corral during the night. The Ayuntamiento de Borriol said it regretted Armada’s death and promised to reinforce its safety and animal-sensitivity protocols. The municipality’s stated response placed the next action in administration: after the death, the protocols governing the event were to be strengthened.