Bogotá's La Santamaria bullfighting stadium, usually the scene of olés and charging bulls in January and February, is instead staging a more cheerful, if perhaps less graceful, activity this year.

Instead of sand, the plaza is covered with ice, even as the heat and sun have Bogotanos sweating. A few minutes of observations show that many of the kids sliding around down there have never ice skated before. Nevertheless, they're having fun - despite an occasional slip and fall.

Many of us suspect that Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro scheduled the ice skating in the bullfighting ring to justify not permitting bullfighting. A court ruled this year that cities could not prohibit bullfighting where it was a traditional. So, the battle over the fate of bullfighting - and perhaps also ice skating - is likely to continue.