In the Course Camarguaise, neither the bull nor the torero dies at the end, yet it remains a duel of one against one. It is not a matter of life, but of honor: the victorious torero becomes the hero of his team and the darling of his beloved. The pearl-adorned ladies in the stands raise their glasses to the men who managed to snatch a ribbon from the bull, whilst the losers are covered by the veil of ignorance. The owners of the successful bulls are celebrated as the heroes of their village – at least for that evening. The contest begins already before the fight: during the entrance, the opponents discreetly assess the opponent’s strength out of the corner of their eyes. Then comes the staring contest: whoever blinks first or shows weakness has lost. After that, only courage, strength, agility, a dash of luck, and the simple rule “the quicker one wins” count.
There is a fine line between freedom and loneliness. The archetypal example is the diving platform. It is climbed in nticipation of the freedom of flight and the elegance of diving into the water. However, at a height of five metres on the edge of the diving platform, feelings of loneliness can replace those of freedom and doubts can arise: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”
