Andusian Bulls on the loose

Though, when driving through the wonderful nature of Andalusia, we also get to know another kind of bulls: the bulls of Osborne.

Our local Sherry brand (Osborne) placed these black bulls in nature to promote their products. Already in 1956, the artist Manolo Prieto from Cádiz came up with the idea of putting silhouettes of black bulls on hills, next to roads and near highways. These wooden bulls where soon turned into metal bulls, because of the weather.. (Yes, we do have rain in Andalusia, actually right now it´s raining cats and bulls..)

Soon, the metal bulls of Osborne got to live their own life and we can find them everywhere when on the road. Even there are already several parodies, for example in the Basque country, where you can find sheep (!) on roundabouts and near highways.

As the Andalusians are proud of their bulls, they resisted heavily against the Traffic Department, which intended to take down all bulls because they would cause roadside   distraction. The regional government declared them part of Andalusian Heritage to resist the statues from disappearing from Spanish landscape.

Luckily, we can observe our firm, strong bulls still along the roads, and not only while driving. Also when cycling into the hills with our village tour..

Do not bother, we wear helmets; just don´t put any red t-shirts on ;-)

village bike tour, now available at www.atdspain.com