If you like vaudeville, midgets and bloodless bullfighting, then you will love these guys. Some say this is a legend, but it is true, and throughly amusing. Enjoy, and I hope it makes your Christmas a little more cheerful.
Two weeks ago, some of you may have had the pleasure of seeing Los Enanitos Toreros at Plaza de Toros "Oriente". They are a travelling troupe consisting of eight Mexican midgets who have delighted audiences of all ages across the country for the past 18 years with their unique brand comic bullfighting, rodeo and, yes, even striptease act. Their members hail from all over the country, but they consider Aquascalientes, Mexico, their home base. They specialize in what they call Rodeo Cómico, Jaripeo Cómico, y Toreo Serio-Cómico, all similar forms of comic rodeo and bull fighting. They train and perform with real bulls—only smaller. The bulls are two or three years old and not yet fully mature. But everything is relative. And for these four-foot midgets, getting in the ring with a young bull, is like you and me getting in there with a fully-grown one—only funny. Speaking with "el Maestro del espactaculo", Señor Tomas Emmannuelle, I learn that the bulls they train with are real and dangerous.
But the danger does not seem to phase these cool midgets, who keep mostly a humorous and mischievous demeanor backstage, before the show. The whipping of towels, yanking of wedgies, flashing of various midget body parts, and general fisticuffs, frequently interrupts my interview. "Jokers, all of them," comments el Maestro. Each midget, varying in experience from five to twenty-five years, trains at their given specialty every third day in their own home in Aguascalientes. The midgets are between the ages of 25 and 38 and some of them have been training for up to 25 years. Asking their manager what they do to train he responds, “We party a lot, fool around some and enjoy life. We spend our life horsing around with each other and trying to entertain people and make them happy.” They all share various occupations ranging from factory workers, to waiters, to theater, television and film actors. Some have appeared in productions such as Put the Hawk’s Bell on the Cat, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, The Cat and the Mouse and a few striptease clubs.
There are other midget bullfighting troupes in the country, five to be precise: two are located in the D.F., one in Torreón, one in Guadalajara, and of course, these guys. But according to el Maestro, the Aguascalientes boys are unabashedly the best.
This was only their second time in San Miguel. They were here previously for last year's Pamplonada and were received extremely well by audiences. But Los Enanitos Toreros aren’t merely a domestic act. They have recently begun a tour of the US, beginning in Texas rodeos, Florida, and North and South Carolina. And judging by the audience’s reaction at our performance, we can expect to see them once again in September.
Me: "How long is this?"
Darren: "If this was hell, it would go on forever."
