Every year thousands of bulls in hundreds of villages around Spain become Toro de Fuego (Bull of Fire) in which they are violently forced to function as live torches and fireworks machines to the joy of thousands of humans, in festivals called Toro Jubilo or Bou Embolat in Catalonia and Valencia regions.

Each bull's horror begins when he is tied by the horns and violently dragged through the roaring streets, to a pillar where his head is tied, his legs forcibly held and his tail pulled so he would be totally immobilized. Then a plank of wood attached to a metal bar doused with a highly flammable mixture of turpentine and tar, is firmly fixed to his head. Once ignited, the bull is let loose to the streets.

Totally disoriented, the panic-stricken bull desperately shakes his head trying to get rid of the fireballs while the spectators constantly abuse him. Burning liquid pour on his face, scorching his eyes and nose. Some bulls have dislocated their necks due to a sudden movement caused by fear and despair.

In many villages nonpermanent bullrings are constructed in the main square with scattered sand on the floor and a few bonfires to complete the burning at the stake atmosphere. There, it is easier to further abuse the bull along with the burning device on his head. Double fun for the partakers.

After more than 30 minutes the bull is out of his mind, with flame engulfing his head. Some try to escape hours of agony by smashing into walls.
The partakers can smell the burning flesh and hear his screams but they are not indifferent to it, on the contrary, that's what they are there for.

The torture ends when the fire burns out itself or if the bull manages to bang his head to death on one of the village's walls. If he doesn't, he would be butchered in the end of the spectacle to be eaten by the villagers.

This horror is very popular in the Valencian community, Castilla-Leon region, Aragon region (especially in Zaragoza and Teruel) and also in Catalonia (where placing fireworks on the animal's horns is very popular) the region which banned bullfighting and two months later voted to regulate and shield other bull torturing events (correbos) including the Bou Embolat. Obviously the bullfighting outlaw was a political decision motivated by the autonomy aspiration of the Catalan nationalists advocating to segregate from Spain. They didn't want to stop the abuse but to distinguish the Spanish torture style from theirs.

The town of Medinaceli, the oldest and most known for performing this torture, has recently applied for the Toro Jubilo fiesta to be recognized by UNESCO as an 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' to protect the practice which has been going on for hundreds of years and is indeed a characteristic cultural heritage of humanity.