The plot outline for Uma toirada (The bullfight) appears to be very old, and was often used by the puppeteers of the Dom Roberto, the traditional Portuguese glove-puppet theatre. Here, the play is a composition in rhymed verses from 1942; it is the literary version of a performance that was usually improvised. Santa-Rita’s version was written to be performed at the Folk Fair of Lisbon. As was the rule for artistic works created under Salazar’s Estado Novo regime, the text was submitted to the general inspectorate of performances under the registration number 2855 and was approved by the inspector general on June 18, 1943.

Santa-Rita’s Uma Toirada is interesting because of its spelling, different from the contemporary tourada. Dating back to 1942, it remains the oldest written play from the Dom Roberto repertoire that we know of.

The play is kept in the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (Torre do Tombo National Archive) in Lisbon, in the archives dedicated to censorship under Salazar’s regime.

People are preparing to watch the bullfight. The doors open and the bullfighters enter. One of them receives the banderilla and tries to stick it in the bull without success. After many turns and movements with the capes, the bull is finally hit and the audience screams. The forcados enter the bullring and walk towards the bull as it is repeatedly hit. In the background, the excitement of the screaming audience and of the vendors intensifies.