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What happens during the alternativa ceremony for a bullfighter?

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Julian Lopez El Juli, dressed in a blue and gold bullfighter costume, faces a charging bull while holding a pink and yellow cape in a sandy bullring in Barcelona. — bullfighting Spanish matador El Juli engaging a bull, June 6, 2010, Barcelona.

The alternativa is a significant ceremony in bullfighting that marks the transition of a novice bullfighter, known as a novillero, into a professional matador (matador de toros).123

During this event, a senior matador formally confers professional status upon the novice, acknowledging them as an equal capable of properly dispatching any bull. This ceremony serves as the culmination of a rigorous training process, during which the bullfighter progresses from fighting young animals as a becerrista to competing as a novillero with picadors.1

By receiving the alternativa, the bullfighter gains the official recognition required to perform as a full-fledged professional in the arena.12