This is the moment of truth. The matador will try with his dance to make the bull look like the perfect creature that it is. It is, to me, the most beautiful moment of the corrida. The two in the ring become one soul. A good matador will be the bull’s shadow, will be his breath, they unite.

The American Myth was still alive in my mind until, married to an American, I finally visited the States and slowly, by living there, came to realize how much that myth—like all myths—existed more as a vehicle for escapism from the pains of daily life. And despite its power and influence over popular culture, it didn’t necessarily correspond to reality.