Albacete 11/09/2014 – Cuarta de Abono

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Fuente Ymbro bulls for Finito de Córdoba, Miguel Ángel Perera & Alejandro Talavante

Even after all these years, I do not know how I feel about Finito. He is a torero of exceptional class, who is able to torear beautifully, but he has lacked the ability to do so on a regular basis (ability is the correct word, I firmly believe that consistency is a skill and rises above being merely lucky). Perera is an entirely different torero. One cannot deny he has the striking demeanour of a torero, but the beauty of Miguel Ángel’s toreo resides in his management of the cloth and the control he exerts over the bull.  His fellow Extremeño, Alejandro Talavante, is another inconsistent toreo, and he has found himself marginalised this season as part of the G5 controversy. Despite his inconsistency, I find him a deeply intriguing torero who can perform stunningly beautiful toreo with his left hand – he might struggle with a certain type of demanding bull, but with the compliant bull, his toreo is angelic.

Before them was a corrida of Fuente Ymbros – predicting bulls’ behaviour is a mugs game. However, I will say that this ranch promises interesting bulls. It may not always deliver them, but it is not one of those ranches where the aficionado’s hopes are all but last before they enter the ring.

Finito’s first bull was average; the type of bull we see all too often, obedient, but dull. After a few inconsistent series, with either hand, the faena peaked with a very well performed series of derechazos; a low, demanding, set of passes impregnated with Finito’s striking elegance. The series, perhaps did not merit the strong ovation it received, but this was pleasing toreo. The bull, however, was finished. It barely accepted two elegant naturales and a couple of sparkling molinetes. He killed poorly, which did not make a difference to the final result (he was never going to be awarded an ear), although he did earn a few jeers for his trouble.

The afternoon’s second bull was equally poor. Its head bobbed loosely during the pass and its charge conveyed no emotion. Perera stood-up firmly to the bull and show its problems. Thankfully, Miguel Ángel also cut his faena short at the right point (I am tired of toreros dragging their performances unnecessarily), unfortunately, it took a great deal of time to squre the bull up for the kill.

Sadly, the corrida continued the downward spiral with the third bull. Another empty bull that did not allow Talvante to create any meaningful toreo.

The tea break allowed us to draw in some breath and hope for a better second half – as I always say, the aficionado’s naïve optimism is boundless!

However, any hopes for the corrida’s resurrection were dashed by the fourth bull. Another disconcertingly dull charge prevented even an attempt at a faena. One might want to keep the odd derechazo for the memory bank, but that would be overly generous. The crowd’s loud jeers were for Finito’s macheteo, but they were entirely unwarranted. The jeers should have been for the bull.

Miguel Ángel Perera’s first bull finally gave us some worthy charges; it came out of the pen with intent and charged nobly at Perera’s capote. He was able to perform a series of silky soft delantales taking the bull to the centre of the ring with aplomb. This gave us the afternoon’s first true ovation. Would this bull be a diamond among the sequins? Happily, the bull’s charge also allowed Perera to perform an emotive and well linked quite by chicuelinas, linked with tafalleras and concluded with a cordobina and larga cordobesa. The toreo was good, not great, but in the context of the afternoon, it was very welcome.

Perera seemed confident that the bull’s charge would continue into the muleta, and dedicated the faena to the crowd before performing characteristically closely worked passes cambiados in the centre of the ring. Although the spectacular edge to Perera’s toreo is welcome, what truly seduces me about his toreo is his wonderful ability to torear in redondo. The bull was noble and possessed a repetitive charge, its one failing was a lack of emotive vitality. Nevetheless Miguel Ángel’s muleta, so often a whip that can tame a nervy bull, was a silk handkerchief that caressed the bull by derechazos and naturales. The torero was entirely in control of proceedings and he concluded with a dominant and well-timed arrimón, garnished with circulares and luqusinas. Miguel Ángel Perera had crafted a complete faena with a good, but incomplete bull, thereby showing why he is the leading torero of the moment. He killed the bull with an estocada, but it came at the price of a chilling voltereta. The bull hooked the torero at knee level and ripped his suit up to his chest; thankfully the horn did not pierece the flesh, but his bruised torso was visible through his shredded shirt. Perera was awarded two ears for his work.

The corrida concluded in the vein of the first four bulls. The sixth was another poor bull and a mere hint of positive toreo. The highlight of Talvanate’s performance was a bright media to conclude his capote greeting. The bull’s inconsistent charge put paid to any further attepts.

Given my hopes for the corrida and that I have often enjoyed Fuente Ymbro’s bulls and it was painful to see such a poor string – worryingly, the ganadero said that the eight bulls he brought to Albacete were from seven different stud bulls. Let’s hope that the corrida’s problems were tangential, rather than deep rooted. There have been enough good Fuente Ymbro bulls run this year for us to believe that the former, rather than the latter, may be the case.

Bilbao 18/08/2014 – Tercera de Abono

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

 

Alcurrucén bulls for Paco Ureña, Joselito Adame & Juan del Álamo                                     

As pretty much the sole remaining Nuñez bulls in the ferias, I am always intrigued by a string of Alcurrucén bulls. They can be inconsistent, given the size of the ganadería, but they generally provide for varied an interesting behaviour. I was also looking forward to seeing Paco Ureña and Juan del Álamo after seeing a couple of good performances from each this summer.  

The corrida’s opening bull was a mobile and tough opponent. He transmitted danger with each charge, and possessed the strength and endurance to give the bullfighter a tough assignment. Despite a slightly inconsistent performance, I felt Ureña was mostly up to task. The faena began with some doblones with the aim of reducing the bull’s vigour, following which, Pacoo changed terrains to the centre of the ring and set to perform fundamental toreo. Given the bull’s lack of class, it was difficult to perform well structure toreo en redondo, but Ureña did he best to link emotive series with the right hand, re-setting his footing between each pass as necessary. As the faena wore on Paco shortened the distance to the bull with mixed results. If Ureña kept the muelta in front of him close to the bull’s face, he was fine, but when he hid the muleta behind his body, in an apparent show of bravery, the torero found himself unable to control the bulls properly. The faena concluded with some well executed circulares and a very emotive estocada. The standing ovation he received was a testament to the fact that he had faced up to a brave bull and emerged intact.

Adame’s first bull seemed reticent to charge, but when it did so it came with commitment. The bull required a heavy call between each pass in order to link toreo en redondo, and when Adame managed to find the correct distance and call between the pass he was able to seemlessly link emotive toreo. However, he was only able to do soacheive this on a few occasions, and never during a whole series. As usual, the figure of eight arrimón was greeted with more enthusiasm than his toreo en redondo. Adame’s performance had been of interest, but too inconsistent to be entirely pleasing. I could have also done without the concluding manoletinas, in my view they added nothing to the faena, besides, he had already dragged it on for a few minutes too long.

The third bull of the afternoon displayed a marked mansedumbre during the first tercio and was very reticent to charge at the horse; to compound matters, he was placed too far from the horse for the second pic leading to an overly protracted lidia.  Fortunately, the bull’s charge greatly improved for the muleta – it was somewhat reticent to charge, but when it did, he did so with his head held low and with class. Del Álamo unlocked the noble charge by ensuring that he kept the muleta in the bull’s face throughout and he executed three good series of derechazos that had the public calling for music. By the time Juan took the left hand, the bull’s charge was fading, but he managed some long and pleasing naturales that sparked up the band. It had started playing too late, the faena was done and del Álamo was only able to execute another couple of good naturales. The faena had not been a complete performance by any measure, but it had been the afternoon’s most emotive faena thus far. For once del Álamo managed a clean estocada that gave way to a petition for an ear that was not granted (in my view the faena was probably a notch below what is needed to cut an ear in Bilbao).

Ureña’s second bull also showcased manso tendencies during the tercio de pics, but, like its predecessor, arrived at the muleta with a very good charge. The bull was vibrant and committed, allowing Paco to perform three excellent series of derechazos to begin the faena. He kept the muleta in the bull’s face between each pass, and performed low, long and well linked toreo en redondo. It was an excellent example of exciting toreo en redondo. Ureña’s toreo al natural was equally emphatic, and although the bull was losing some impetus, the faena remained emotive. If, with the first bull, Ureña had shown his willingness to stand up to a tough bull, here he displayed his ability to torear very well with the muelta. Two bernadinas and a couple of chest passes were a pleasing coda to a well worked faena. Although he managed to execute an estocada, it was too low and would lost him the ear his toreo deserved, even without the two descabellos he needed to kill the bull.

The fifth bull had a wonderful charge for the muleta. It was rhythmic, noble and classy, with the requisite repetitiveness to allow for well linked toreo. Adame managed to exploit these qualities to perform three very good series en redondo, his derechazos were smooth and well-timed, and correctly linked to create greatly emotive series. The good work continued with the left hand, the bull’s charge was pure sweetness and Adame matched this with his clean muletazos. Back to the right hand, and the bull continued to charge tirelessly without losing any of its class – an excellent bull for a potentially great faena de muleta. In the circumstances, Adame performed at a good level, but, unfortunately, his toreo lacked the class and repose to perform the great faena that the bull’s charge deserved. Despite the full estocada the bull stayed on his feet for a long time and resisted with all his might the death that slowly overcame him. As the crowd petitioned for an ear, which was duly granted, I was left dreaming of what might have been with a bull of this quality – hopefully we will see a few more of this ilk in the remainder of the feria.

Thankfully, we only had to wait until the next bull for a repeat. The sixth animal was another wonderful opponent, and one that displayed the valued Nuñez trait of having an extra yard of charge in the muleta which it combined with a noble and classy manner. The excellence of the charge allowed del Álamo to construct a good faena marked by its well-executed and smooth toreo en redondo. However, as with Adame, I had the impression that the faena lacked a measure of repose and structure that would have elevated it to the level that the bull’s charge called for. That is not to say that del Álamo did not perform good toreo, on the contrary, there was a string very good isolated passes, with both the right and left hand, and the odd excellent series. However, it was all too inconsistent and rather than construct the faena towards a climax, the performance merely meandered until it was time for the kill, as he did so with a complete (although low) estocada, del Álamo cut the ear that his muleta work had merited. The bull, however, had been worth two.

At the conclusion I was left with the satisfaction of having enjoyed an excellent string of bulls. They maintained my interest throughout the corrida and the only bull that did not allow for good toreo, the opener, created the problems posed by the casta and, as such, captured my attention. Unfortunately, the bullfighters were a level below the bulls and we were unable to enjoy the magical afternoon that the bull’s charges warranetd. The toreros did not have a bad afternoon, per se, and they justified their inclusion in the feria; however, they showed themselves incapable of giving us the type of performances that would allow them to reach the next level in the taurine pecking order.

Gijón 13/08/2014 – Tercera de Abono

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

 

Montalvo bulls for Diego Ventura, Miguel Ángel Perera & Alejandro Talavante

 

After the disastrous string of Monalvo bulls we saw in Santander and Madrid, my hopes were tempered in advance of this corrida. However, most ganaderías can manage to produce the odd good string of bulls (even if by sheer dumb luck) and the line-up of toreros invited positive thinking. Besides, I always try to be optimistic in my afición and, perhaps naively, try find interest in most cartels. So as I sat down before the TV I thought of the reports I had heard of good Montalvos and of Perera and Talavante’s potentially excellent toreo.

 

Miguel Ángel Perera’s first bull displayed nobility but weakness the opening tercios. He used the noble condition to perform a closely worked and measured quite by chicuelinas. In the circumstances it was a pleasing and welcome quite. As the clarions sounded for the tercio de muleta we were left wondering, how long will the bull last? In light of the bull’s weak condition, the well-executed estatuarios were perhaps not the ideal beginning, however the first couple of softly timed series of derechazos were far more suitable. The faena was at a crossroads – if the bull was able to showcase endurance and bravery we could see a good performance, but the fear with these noble bulls is that their charges dissipate after the opening gambit. Perera took the muleta in his left hand and, despite trying to create a miracle with his timing, it was not to be. The faena, ultimately, was a non-entity.

Perera’s second was an invalid that spent more time sliding across the sand than chargin on its feet. He spent to long trying to torear, even though the bull was running on empty; it may have been best to shorten our afternoon by five minutes and pick up the sword sooner. It’s unfortunate that the expectation of seeing the season’s leading torero was entirely undermined by a string of rotten bulls. Fortunately, the Gijón crowd had another opportunity to enjoy his toreo on Sunday, unfortunately, Canal Plus only broadcast the first three corridas of the feria.

 

Talvante’s first bull was far better (relatively speaking). It was not as strong as one might hope, but its charge was lively, noble and repetitive; it was the ideal bull for Talavante’s silky smooth toreo. He began the faena with a couple of right hand series that were well linked and capped with bright remates. It was Talavante’s toreo at its best: relaxed, unaffected and aesthetically pleasing. The bull did not respond as well to toreo on the left side, and as such his toreo al natural was less clean. The conclusions of the series with the left hand, were, once again, inspired. As a whole the faena was marked by Talavante’s inspired adornments rather than by the intense fundamental toreo of the opening couple of series. Talavante tried to complete his faena by extracting passes from a short distance but, by then, the bull was exhausted. The estocada was executed with the slowness of his toreo, but he required the descabello to kill the bull. Nevertheless, Talavante was justly awarded an ear for his pretty faena.

 

Alejandro received his final bull with a pleasing series of veronicas, that was concluded with a couple of nice medias and a very pretty larga. The good performance with the capote continued into the first tercio with a lively galleo by chicuelinas to take the bull to the horse. The start of the faena was wonderfully creative. Talavante began with some estatuarios por alto but, after noting that these were not apt for the bull’s weak condition, he switched to a beautiful set of ayudados por bajo, capped off with a fabulous natural a pies junto and a molinete with the left hand. The bull, without being great, had a vibrant and emotive charge that allowed for moving fundamental toreo. On this occasion, the fundamental toreo shone above the remates and the faena was the better for it. The series, with both the right and left hand, were well linked and continued to be characterised by Talavante’s naturally silky toreo. They were peppered with some attractive remates that complimented the fundamental toreo perfectly. A final series of manoletinas was the prelude to an emphatic estocada and a strongly merited ear.

 

I enjoy the communion between man, horse and bull that is created by rejoneo, but I feel completely under qualified to make any meaningful comments about it. I will just say that Ventura cut three ears, and I enjoyed his performance as a compliment to the spectacle a pie.

Gijon 12/08/2014 - Segunda de Abono

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Puerto de San Lorenzo bulls for Daniel Luque, Juan del Álamo & Jímenez Fortes               

This afternoon provided an intriguing cartel composed of promising young toreros who find themselves in a secondary plane to the consolidated figuras but who should be primed to take the final step. One could certainly argue that Luque is certainly staking his claim to the top this campaign. Furthermore, I always look forward to seeing the Atanasios of El Puerto – an encaste that seemingly had a bright future, but would have disappeared from the ferias but for the Fraile brothers.

Luque’s first bull was classy but ever so weak. With these types of bull, any positives offered by the quality of the charge are entirely negated by its weak condition – Luque said in the post-faena interview that the bull would have lasted better had the plaza’s sand been harder. I respectfully disagree, a bull must have certain vigour in order to convey emotion. This animal had no such vivacity. As such the faena lacked any meaningful impetus, there were the odd good naturales and there was always the feeling that the faena could develop; however such hope was a mirage with this weak bull. One of the few positives of the lidia was an attractive galleo to the horse by chicuelinas concluded with a radiant cordobina.  

Del Álamo welcomed his first bull into the arena with a couple of larga cambiadas de rodillas – although it is difficult to tell watching on TV, it seems that these openings de rodillas are being greeted with increasing coldness by the public. This bull was also marked by its limited strength and therefore did not allow del Álamo construct a faena. To compound matters, del Álamo had a nightmare with the sword.

The story repeated itself with the third bull – to add insult to injury (or rather, the reverse), this bull also broke a hoof at the end of Fortes’ attempt at a faena.

The first half of the corrida had been disastrous. A succession of poor bulls had made any attempt at a faena futile. It is true that the state of the plaza’s sand left much to be desired; but the greater issue was the bulls’ rotten condition. Nevertheless, and against all logic, I was still hopeful that the corrida’s second half might yield something of note.

The fourth bull was a different proposition (thankfully!); it lacked the class of the first three bulls, but had some of the vivacity one would expect from a toro bravo.  The movement and nerve of the bull meant that Luque was able to build a reasonably emotive faena de muleta, principally on the right side. It was not aesthetically stirring, but conveyed a level of the emotion a moving bull and well-timed muleta can offer. Given the disaster of the opening three bulls, this decent faena was very welcome. A full estocada, that took some time to take effect, gave way to an underwhelming petition – no doubt if the sword thrust had tumbled the bull sooner Luque might have earned an ear.

The fifth bull continued the afternoon’s slight upward turn. It charged vibrantly, with its head held low, but tended to cut its charge short. Nevertheless, it was, despite its imperfections, an emotive charge that could be moulded into good toreo. Del Álamo faced up to the bull’s challenge and performed an exciting faena, characterised by solid toreo en redondo. Juan was able to dominate the bull’s low charge and based his faena on the right side. Given the bull’s short charge, the series were intermittently linked, and suffered the odd enganchón. However, it was good to see a young torero construct his work around the positive elements of the bull’s charge, and overcome the negatives. A closely worked series of manoletinas concluded the performance with the muleta and Juan would have earned a meritorious ear for his work had he not taken three pinchazos to kill the bull.

Fortes’ second bull brought us back down to earth. Although it did not suffer the glaring and scandalous weakness of the first three bulls, it had the noble and bland charge that bores us on many an afternoon. Fortes began with a pase cambiado in the centre of the ring, it was an emotive, if rough, start to the faena. He then proceeded to execute many passes, none of which conveyed any emotion whatsoever.  I can understand his desire to please by attempting a faena, but it was soon clear that the bull was empty, and it would have been advisable to reach for the sword a couple of minutes earlier.

El Puerto 03/08/2014

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Torrealta Bulls for Enrique Ponce, Sebastián Castella & Alejandro Talavante

We find ourselves in August, the height of the taurine season, and therefore, even taking into account the reduced number corridas, these type of carteles are abundant. These, a moderately interesting line up of figuras (Enrique Ponce, who I greatly enjoy, Castella, who I would like to consider a leading figura, but whose toreo en redondo lets him down, and Alejandro Talvante, who can torear beautifully, but is too inconsistent) facing bulls of dubious quality (like many Domecq ranches, Torrealta can provide very good bulls, but the poor ones are downright boring). Without wanting to come across as overly pessimistic, it is the type of afternoon that one can harbour great hopes for, but there is an ever present niggle that the corrida will be a disaster. As it was, the bulls were generally poor, and the toreros managed to torear in spite of the bulls – a hollow victory if you will.

The star of the afternoon was Enrique Ponce. In full disclosure I love Enrique’s toreo, and have done so for as long as I can remember – rather, I can remember, as a young kid, watching Ponce on TV with my grandfather and both of us agreeing: “Ponce, he is the best”. However woolly the concept of “best” is, I am confident in writing that Ponce is the most significant torero of my lifetime, and arguably, the most significant torero since El Viti and Paco Camino retired. These are my thoughts, and therefore what I write can be considered through this lens.

Yesterday, Ponce displayed some of the qualities that have led me to consider his toreo so highly. Namely, good timing and taurine intelligence. The fourth Torrealta was a poor bull; it was weak, and therefore lacked class and vigour in its charge. It did, however, display a noble disposition and would follow the muleta. As ever, Ponce looks for the bull’s qualities, and focussed his toreo around these, while trying to avoid the type of toreo that would highlight the animal’s faults. Therefore, the early part of his faena was all about mid-height toreo to ensure that the bull would be able to complete a pass; his great sense of timing helping the animal maintain its minimal impetus and allowing for slow and well linked series of derechazos. As the faena developed, Ponce was able to impose more demanding toreo on the bull, and the bull was able to accept it. The final part of his performance was simply marvellous – the bull would only accept solitary passes, but Ponce worked his way into his jurisdiction, an uncharacteristic arrrimón if you will, and extracted long, slow and emotionally stirring passes. This brings me to another of Ponce’s virtues, he has a great sense of spectacle and structures his faenas to a crescendo. With the plaza on its feet, ready to petition for trophies, Ponce displayed his biggest fault – a tinfoil sword that has cost him more ears than he will no doubt care to remember. The bull was proving difficult to square for the estocada and Ponce’s rock solid toreo gave way to a series of pincahzos that dissipated the impending triumph. The first bull of the afternoon was even poorer that the fourth and did not allow for a faena.

I wish I enjoyed Castella more than I do. He is a very brave torero who, at his best, displays excellent toreo characterised by stillness and control. However, all too often, I feel let down by a toreo en redondo that comes across as cold and lacking profoundness. Thankfully, on certain recent occasions I have been able to note a marked improvement on this front, and, happily, such improvement continued into today’s corrida leading to an exit on shoulders. It was by no means a brilliant afternoon, but Castella performed to a good level before the afternoon’s least mediocre lots of bulls.

His first bull charged with bravery and vigour during the first two tercios and allowed Castella to perform a striking opening – a number of passes cambiados in the centre of the ring that showcased the best of his still and controlled toreo. Unfortunately, the positive charge the bull had displayed until this point was exhausted after only a couple of series en redondo. Some of this may have been down to the demanding start of the faena, but also, no doubt, because of the summersault and tough rear pic it suffered during the first tercio. Despite the sudden decline in the faena, a good sword thrust gave Sebastián the first ear of his afternoon.

Castella’s second bull maintained a good, lively charge throughout the faena de muleta, and he was therefore able to construct a more emotive and better structured faena. Sebastián begun with a series of estatuarios just inside the picador’s lines, these were executed with a sight curve in their trajectory giving them greater intensity than if they were merely straight line passes. Castella was able to display well linked and profound toreo en redondo during the fundamental portion of the faena – as I wrote above, it was pleasing to see Castella give his toreo the extra element that it often lacks. He concluded with a series of circulares and might have obtained two ears from the generous crowd had his emphatic sword thrust not been preceded by a pinchazo. This was by no means a vintage performance, for one, the bulls were too poor to allow for such, however it was a pleasing afternoon’s work within the context of a corrida that suffered from underwhelming bulls.

I would also like to highlight the two very good tercios de banderillas performed by Castella’s cuadrilla. Both Javier Ambel and José Chacón were given a strong ovation after a couple of excellent pairs of banderillas to the second and fifth bull respectively. I feel it is important to relay these details of the afternoon that might otherwise be lost when reading the “box score” of the corrida – a lidia is so much more than the faena de muleta and too many bright details are forgotten at the end of the afternoon if the result has not been pleasing.

Talavante’s performance was almost a non-entity. His bulls were poor and he was unable to perform any toreo of note. Given his limited opportunities to torear this season, I am sure that this was a great disappointment for him.  

 

 

Santander 24/07/2014 – Quinta de Abono

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Domingo Hernandez & Garcigrande Bulls for El Juli, MA Perera & Paco Ureña

It would be fair to say that El Juli has had a mixed season. His extracurricular concerns have certainly overshadowed the development of this season, and this, in turn, has led to an inconsistency in his toreo. After missing out in Sevilla, he highlighted his corridas in Nimes and Mont de Marsan (before Miura and La Quina bulls respectively) as special events, but both were marred by substandard bulls. On the brighter side, he had a notable triumph in Pamplona and also today in Santander.

The corrida began with a noble, lively bull, which had an edge of mansedubre, and therefore was often looking for a way out at the end of the pass. This allowed El Juli enough space between each pass to stay perfectly placed and, also, to elongate the distance of each subsequent muletazo. Despite the starting with passes camibados in the centre of the ring, conceptually this was a typically Julista faena – that is, characterised above all by the quality of his toreo en redondo. The toro seemed willing to rajarse at every stage, but El Juli’s low, slow muleta kept him focussed during this long faena. An inelegant but effective sword thrust led to a double prize.  

The fourth bull allowed us to enjoy another pleasing work from El Juli. The bull had a cumbersome charge but El Juli set out to polish its charge with his powerful muleta. The bull charged willingly to the muleta but seemingly lacked commitment during the pass undermining the quality of the same. It therefore necessitated a long faena to allow El Juli to bring the best out of the bull with a couple of very good series en redondo at the end of the performance. After being able to submit the bull to his fundamental toreo, El Juli resorted to the typical arrimón of the post-modern faena to excite the crowd. I do not find arrimones displeasing per se, but am often frustrated by the public’s reaction to them, their neutral reaction to fundamental toreo seems to be at odds with the emotion they seem to derive from figure of eight toreo. Nevertheless, and brining the focus back to taoday’s faena, El Juli might have cut a further ear or two had he not concluded with a succession of pinchazos.

For those of you that have been following the 2014 season, it will come as no surprise that El Juli was joined in his triumph by Miguel Ángel Perera. I have always enjoyed Perera’s work and I am happy that his toreo is once again receiving the attention that it thoroughly deserves. There is a certain view that this is his best season since his excellent 2008 campaign; to my mind he has been the same torero throughout, but he has not always enjoyed the favourable press given to other toreros. 

Miguel Ángel Perera performed an extraordinarily varied tercio de capotes. He received the bulls with a couple of veronicas, concluded with another few ganoeras. His quite was a five in one, comprising of a chicuelina, tafallera, salterina, media veronica and gaonera. All of which were seamlessly linked. He began the faena with estatuarios from the first pic line – ten excellently linked passes during which Perera barely moved an inch from his starting position. A stunning display of control. This bull was similarly noble, but differed from the first in that its charge lacked vitality and he was less prone to escape the lures. This allowed him to perform two excellent series of derechazos, that shone through for their smoothness and the low passes. The following series combined derechazos, naturales with the left hand, and, after disposing of the sword mid series, a natural with the right hand. However, Perera’s emphatic muleta had exhausted the bull that, after this series, became rajado and headed to the boards. The faena was complete as the bull did not even allow for an arrimón ojedista. The estocada led to the ear that his dominant, solid faena and bright capework thoroughly deserved.  

Perera’a second bull was lively, but one borne out of a cowardly anger rather than bravery. Nevertheless, its mobility allowed him to perform two initial series en redondo with his right hand that served to focus its charge on this side. Consequently, the third series marked the first truly emotive series marked, as always by Miguel Ángel, by the quality of his fundamental toreo. He then took the left hand to perform a couple of series of low, slow, smooth and perfectly linked series of naturales. By this stage the bull gave up it desire to charge and headed to the boards. Desirous for more, Perera took the bull back to the centre of the ring for an acceptable, if somewhat untidy, arrimón. A series of six very closely worked bernadinas served as a prologue to an emotive estocada, the horn struck his abdomen, but thankfully did not pierce the flesh, and the consequential ear. The bull’s informal charge took some of the brilliance from this faena but it was, as we are accustomed to seeing from Perera, an utterly dominant performance.

Paco Ureña’s bull was nervier, but lacked some of the charge-on-rails class of the first two animals. Paco stood up to the bull and managed an emotive but inconsistent faena. His timing was not always on point, and he did not always keep the muleta close to the bull’s face between each pass. However, when he found the correct technique, Ureña displayed a solid concept of toreo: long, low passes, as it should be.  The faena was well structured and concluded with linked passes with the front and reverse of the muleta; it was not pure, fundamental toreo, but it was controlled and emotive. Moreover, it exceited the crowd, that subsequently petitioned for an ear notwithstanding the pinchazo that preceded a hazardous estocada.

The final bull of the afternoon was excellent for toreo en redondo with the muleta. It would charge from a distance, repeat charges with vivacity and do so with the sufficient nobility to allow for clean toreo. Happily, Paco Ureña was up the challenge posed by this bull. Given the bull’s quality some might think why this would be a challenge… Simply put, it a torero has a good bull and cannot perform toreo, then his place is redundant on the cartel. There wre the logical inconsistencies in his toreo,but the good muletazos, were excellent. The bull’s quality needed space, when Paco gave him space the toreo emerged long and smooth, if he suffocated the bull and stayed close, the charge was minimised. After a long faena combining toreo en redondo on either wide, he concluded with the expected arrimón (which included some passes camibados). Like Perera, he performed some bernadinas before leaving a full estocada that proved sufficient to kill the bull and alloed him to cut a deserved ear. Without wanting to minimise Ureña’s work, a more consistent approach to the faena might have yielded a second ear.

Santander 23/07/2014 – Cuarta de Abono

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Montalvo Bulls for Morante de la Puebla, José Mari Manzanares & Juan del Álamo

The best laid plans of men are often laid waste by substandard bulls. Sadly, today followed that script as a poor string of Montalvo bulls compromised this corrida. Manzanares and Del Álamo enjoyed slightly better luck than Morante and each drew one bull that allowed them to perform some work of note. However, the overwhelming feeling was that these were a string of poorly presented bulls that were markedly void of any of the nerve or qualities that make the toro bravo such a special animal.

Morante’s first bull lacked strength and did not charge with any style or ease. Morante saved himself the task of trying to extract water from a dry well and earned a bronco for his (lack of) effort.

The fourth was much of the same. It was another weak bull that lacked casta and should have been sent back. The bull spent his whole time on the sand either falling over or resisting to charge. Morante tried (on this occasion he did try to torear, despite the faltering bull) to paint the odd artistic muletazo, but it was not to be – he was facing an empty bull. Another poor showing with the sword gained him another bronco (although, part of this was directed at the palco).

Manzanares’s first bull seemed to injure one of its hind legs during the first tercio – this hindered its ability to charge, but was not serious enough to lead to calls for the bull to be changed. The impediment in the bull’s charge made constructing a faena difficult, and ultimately it was a fruitless endeavour. However, José Mari did manage to polish the bull with his sense of timing and managed a couple of vibrant series of derechazos towards the end of the faena.

The afternoon’s fifth bull charged with little composure (perhaps due to an eye problem), but with a certain emotive nerve. Manzanares displayed determination in order to try and control the bull, and eventually submit it under his powerful muleta. This allowed him to perform several good series of derechazos that were among the most vibrant and emotive of the afternoon. A pleasing faena, but one that was lost in the mire of this disappointing corrida. Manzanares assured himself of an ear with a good sword thrust.

Juan Del Álamo realised that if the bulls were not charging, he had to engage the crowd with some pyrotechnics. Therefore, he greeted his first bull with a larga cambiada de rodillas (which were followed by some very slow veronicas on his feet) and began his faena, again, on his knees. Thankfully, this bull had a more lively charge than its brothers and allowed Del Álamo to construct a very good faena indeed. The bull would charge from a distance, which allowed Juan to use the bull’s inertia to conclude three well timed series or derechazos; Del Álamo was in control of the bull and the toreo flowed long and smooth. He then took the left hand and performed the outstanding two series of the faena. Juan ensured that, between each pass the muleta stayed at a few inches from the bull’s eyes allowing him to hook the animal on the next pass. Each series of naturales was built to a striking crescendo, the last pass of the series being the longest and flowing perfectly to a forced chest pass. Wanting to secure the crowd’s attention, and he triumph, he finished the faena as he started, on his knees. Aside from the excellent toreo en redondo, Del Álamo interspersed his fundamental toreo with varied remates, such as the odd farol, molinete, trincherazo and kneeling chest pass, these showed his fresh mind. A pity that very poor sword work cost him one, possibly two, ears.

The final bull of the afternoon followed the general pattern of the corrida. A weak bull that was void of casta. Del Álamo tried to perform toreo, but it was all but impossible before such an animal. The arrimón with which he concluded showed a desire to please, but at this stage, I rather fancy that the crowd would have been pleased to return home as quickly as possible ato put this ghastly string of bulls behind them.

Santander 21/07/2014 – Segunda de Abono

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Parladé and JP Domecq Novillos Fernando Rey, José Garrido & José Ruiz Muñoz

Fernando Rey began the novillada with a bright intervention with the capote. He receveid his first novillo with a couple of nicely performed veronicas, as after a number of charges the novillo stayed short, he opted to conclude the capote greeting with some chicuelinas. An attractive start that was followed by a galleo to the horse by chicuelinas and a quite by lopecinas. His vibrant performance with the capote showcased Fernando’s desire to please. The bull reached the muleta with a short charge, and Fernando was unable to construct a faena. He tried losing steps between passes in an attempt to link series en redondo, but to no avail. It was a solid performance with the muleta, but the highlight of this novillo was Rey’s varied cape work.

Fernando's second novillo was noble with a repetitive charge. He began the faena with three passes cambiados in the centre of the ring, a good start that served to capture the audience’s attention and was concluded with some beautiful low trincherazos. The substance of the faena revolved around well worked, and nicely linked, series en redondo with both hands. However, Fernando’s poor timing prevented the faena from really taking flight. If the series en redondo was clean, it came across too briskly, but, conversely, when he tried to torear slower, he suffered enganchones and the odd desarme. Nevertheless, the faena was vibrant and he deserved the ear that the good kill put into his hand. But novillo had been worth two ears. Fernando Rey’s desire to please, an indespensible quality for a novollero, cannot be doubted. If he is determined, there will be time to perfect his technique.

José Garrido is, by contrast, an excellent technician. His first novillo lacked casta and was problematic. It did not charge, it head butted the muleta. An attractive faena was impossible, but Garrido showed his experience and was a level above the problems posed by the bull.

Happily for Garrido, the fifth novillo had a better charge in the muelta and he was able to showcase his dominance and good toreo. Garrido greeted this novillo in the same way he had done his first, with low, slow and emphatic veronicas. They inspired the respectful “bien” rather than “ole” from the crowd, but they were a statement of intent that this novillo would obey and follow Garrido’s lures. A lively galleo by veronicas continued his decisive intervention with the cape (although these suffered the blemish of a desarme as a conclusion). Muleta in hand, Garrido performed a dominant and substantive faena. The bull charged with commitment, but lacked the desire to promptly repeat its charges. Garrido overcame this by teasing out each charge with good timing. The highlight of the faena were several smooth and well-timed series with the right hand; they were the type of series where one can sense the power of the torero’s muleta in bringing the novillo into his jurisdiction, drawing the pass and concluding it ready for the next derechazo. This novillo lacked the vigour of the fourth one, and soon ran out of gas. Garrido concluded with a somewhat protracted arrimón wherein his dominance was such that the performance lacked emotion. A defective sword denied him an ear, but could not erase the memory of a very notable afternoon.

Garrido has been one of this season’s success stories. I have followed him as much as possible since his excellent performance in Olivenza last March. He has not disappointed, the highlight being his exit by the Puerta del Príncipe in Sevilla. Garrido has another tough assignment on the horizon; six bulls in Bilbao. On today’s evidence he should overcome his obstacle, I wish him all the best.

José Ruiz Muñoz, who is Curro Romero’s great nephew, was the afternoon’s triumphant novillero. He cut two ears from the noble and lively third novillo with a delicious faena underscored by his striking elegant manner and creative remates. José showed his artistic interpretation of toreo with the capote, and continued displaying this virtue with the muleta. Fundamentally the faena was sound, clean and well timed. Ruiz linked his series with both hands in a pleasing manner. However, Ruiz’s unique selling point is his marked aesthtic manner. All his passes seem fresh and committed, and they are all pretty because of his taurine personality and expression. Furthermore, he peppered his faena with typical sevillian remates. This was a faena to be savoured. A sure sword gave him two ears.

With the sixth novillo, Ruiz once again showed his classy concept of toreo, as well as the delightful remates with which he garnished his work. However, the novillo, although noble, lacked vibrancy. The faena therefore lacked any vibrancy. A good estocada ratified his excellent afternoon.

Despite this promising performance, I would like to offer a word of warning. The path to figura (or even the route to just being a torero de ferias) is littered with classy, elegant toreros. It is technique that underpins success. Not all bulls will be as sweet and noble as today’s offereing, he will need to overcome the problems offered by other types of bulls, and impose his toreo on these. If he is able to do so, we will have a striking torero on our hands.

 

 

Mont de Marsan 19/07/2014 – Fourth Corrida

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Victorino Bulls for Diego Urdiales, Manuel Escribano & Alberto Aguilar

This cartel was almost a repeat of last Sunday’s corrida in Pamplona. The only difference being that the albaserrada bulls on show would be from Victorino’s ranch, not Adolfo’s. Last week’s corrida was negatively marked by the bull’s difficult, and generally poor, behaviour. However, we aficionados are nothing if not a hopeful lot. It is therefore with such hopeful mind-set that I sat before my TV set this evening.

The first bull of the afternoon held inside some deep and profound charges. It is to Urdiales’ credit that he was able to craft his faena in such a way as to unlock these. The capotazos to greet the bull were designed not to create a spectacle, but rather to focus the bull and show it how to charge – of course, the good lidia is a spectacle in and of itself. A special mention must go to Urdiales’ flowery remates with the capote throughout the first two tercios; a change of hand to conclude a series of veronicas, or to leave the bull before the horse added spice to his cape work.

Diego’s muleta work was all about finding the bull’s profound charges. He began with some doblones in a straight line and without punishing it in order to try and elongate its charge. Its charged short when Urdiales took the right hand to perform derechazos, but the faena maintained a level of interest. His performance, thankfully, took an emotive step up al natural. The passes were not always linked (although this was largely due to the bull’s condition), but certain individual naturales were excellent. Taken as a whole, the faena did not move greatly, rather, it left me with the satisfaction of seeing a job well done. The pinchazo prior to the estocada (which was accompanied by a spectacular tossing) and the two subsequent descabellos did not prevent the Mont de Marsan crowd from petitioning for an ear. The president granted it. I felt this was somewhat generous given the protracted kill, but I have never been one to get riled by an incorrect award (or denial) of an ear – it is up to the aficionados to debate the merit of a faena, regardless of the award.    

Urdiales cut another ear from the fourth bull following a measured and firm faena. The bull possessed a meaningful charge, but it lacked repetition; when it charged the bull was committed, however, the charges were few and far between. Urdiales was sure of himself throughout the faena, and even concluded his performance with an arrimón close to the bull’s horns. This decisiveness allowed Diego to extract some excellent individual passes from the bull, however, the faena was as inconsistent as the bull’s charge and lacked a really emphatic series to define it. Nevertheless, a sure sword proved effective and the Mont de Marsan crowd petitioned for another ear, which, once again, was duly granted.

Escribano’s first bull shared the problems of the first (its charge was short, and it lacked vibrancy), but Manuel was unable to extract meaningful toreo from it. Despite its problems, the bull did not convey any threat, and did not transmit any emotion through its charge. Escribano limited himself to performing a faena by numbers; there were passes, but none will live in the memory. Besides, I had the impression throughout the faena that Escribano was toreando too briskly. His tercio de banderillas was acceptable but, again, not especially notable. All pairs were al cuarteo, with the only variety being the terrains in which they were placed, and only the third pair was placed square before the horns.

Escribano greeted the fifth bull with a larga cambiada de rodillas close to the boards – it was well received, but there was no toreo a la veronica to follow up. Manuel’s tercio de banderillas was, once again, inconsistent – the first pair al cuarteo was a toro pasado and the second, a violin al quiebro ended with the barbs in the bull’s side. Thankfully, the third pair al cuarteo was placed squarely and the fourth, a conventional quiebro, well executed and correctly placed. Escribano’s opening combined spectacular toreo with a pase cambiado, with some admirabl derechazos; low, well timed and nicely linked. I had Escribano for a torero that was high on style and spectacle, but low on substance. However, today I discovered a torero who could match his jovial bravery with reposed fundamental toreo. The best series was the second with the right hand, he hooked the bull out in front of him and timed it beautifully throughout the pass. However, he kept toreando slowly throughout the faena – even as the bull’s charge shortened. He concluded with some manoletinas before executing a textbook volapíe which led to an ear.

Nevertheless, the crowd seemed to react coldly to Escribano throughout the afternoon, especially taking into account their welcoming attitude to Urdiales. Assessing toreo can sometimes be an exercise in confirmation bias; I wonder whether the crowd today were reacting to Escribano and Urdiales in the context of today’s performance of each of their reputations...      

The third bull was the most vibrant of the afternoon thus far. It began charging well as from the tercio de varas, allowing for Aguilar and Urdiales to compete in quites; the former by chicuelinas, the latter by delantales concluded with a beautiful media veronica at waist height. Aguilar also did well in positioning the bull at a distance for a spectacular second pic. With the muleta the bull retained his vibrant, encastado charge and Aguilar was able to perform a very pleasing faena. He began with several well linked series of derechazos that served as an exciting start to the faena. When he took the left hand, the first couple of series were aborted after the first pass; the first natural was excellent, but as he stayed in the position to link the second the bull was on top of him. After two attempts, Aguilar understood his mistake and lost a couple of steps between each pass in order to link some exciting series en redondo. A pinchazo prior to the estocada lost him a well-earned ear. The faena was good, however, I felt that Aguilar was perhaps a notch or two below the level of the bull; his worked lacked a measure of repose that would have taken it from good to great. I would have loved to see El Cid in his prime face this bull.

Aguilar improved technically with the sixth bull. Although the faena did not reach the emotive levels of his first, Alberto found the correct plan in order to produce some good individual passes from a bull that barely gave away a charge. A reticent charger, that also stayed short, it was impossible to link two passes together and stay entirely still. Aguilar therefore lost passes between derechazos and constructed several interesting series en redondo. Unfortunately, the bull did not allow for anything more and the faena dissipated to nothing. It was, however, a solid performance from Alberto Aguilar.

Algeciras 27/06/14 – Galván displays his credentials and triumphs alongside Manzanares

El Pilar bulls for: Enrique Ponce (silence and a strong ovation), Jose María Manzanares (ear and two ears) & David Galván (two ears and silence).

 

Undaunted by his appearance alongside two figuras, David Galván gave the Algeciras an assured display that reinforced his credentials as a young promising torero. His faena to the third bull would have been enough to fill one afternoon of toreo, but thankfully, we also enjoyed a couple of very good faenas from Manzanares and Enrique Ponce’s pleasing interventions. A good, but not great, string of El Pilar bulls enabled the spectacle. The bulls were a modern lot, the best ones of them charged on rails, the poorer ones just stopped; they needed good toreros to face them or we would have all been bored to tears.

Enrique Ponce faced the worst lot, but had he been on form with the sword might have earned an ear or two for his trouble. The first bull of the afternoon was the worst example of the modern bull; it was noble, but did not charge, its problems caused by a lack of casta, rather than by the excess of it. However, Ponce did as Ponce does; use his muleta to coax and tease every ounce of bravura from the bull. The faena was technically pleasing, but lacked any emotion. Even so, the benevolent Algeciras crowd might have petitioned for an ear had Ponce not needed numerous sword thrusts to secure an estocada.

The valencian torero’s poor sword work also cost him an ear from his second bull. This animal was altogether a different proposition. Its animated charge even prompted Ponce to intervene with a pleasantly executed quite of delantales. He dedicated the bull to the crowd, we all thought we were in for a Ponce treat. The first couple of series of derechazos were superb, well timed, seamlessly linked and underscored by Ponce’s elegant manner. However, just as he sought to pepper the faenas with some adornos and use his left hand to take the faena to the next level, the bull fizzled out – those first two series had seemingly exhausted it of worthy charges. Just as it seemed that the faena would come to nothing, Ponce took the muleta in his right hand once again to perform one last emotive series of derechazos. When faced with a poor bull, Ponce’s technique is magnetic, there is nobody like him at taking a poor bull and forcing it to follow his muleta. A pity that his tinfoil sword reduced his recognition to a heartfelt ovation from the Algeciras public. 

Manzanares had an excellent afternoon. He enjoyed the best lot, however, his elegant toreo served to properly take advantage of their noble charges. Both faenas were similar in approach and structure, with the second one standing out because of the bull’s greater vibrancy. It is no secret that Manzanares’ forte is the right hand, therefore, the two faenas were built around majestic toreo en redondo by derechazos. Each pass accompanied by José Mari’s emphatic aesthetic concept. The first toro tended towards being sweet and noble, so the toreo lacked some brio, it was, however, clean, smooth and emotive. His second bull was excellent (along with the fifth Fuente Ymbro, the bull of the feria), vigorous, yet noble, it allowed the vibrant toreo by derechazos that formed the foundation of an excellent faena. Manzanares’ sword is one of the surest in the escalafón, on this occasion it secured the three ears that allowed him to open the puerta grande.

There were two potential criticisms for Manzanares’ work: firstly, that his toreo lacks closeness and secondly, poor use of the left hand.  The first of these is not, in my mind, entirely justified. It would be incorrect to suggest that Manzanares bases his toreo on proximity to the bull, however, on today’s evidence, he did not pass the bull excessively far away from his body. Besides, proximity to the bull should not be subordinated to clean smooth toreo. The second comment, however, is reasonable. Manzanares’ left hand is weaker than his right, today was no different. It is a pity, therefore, that José Mari was unable to perform a couple of real, emphatic series with the left hand to complement the sublime derechazos.

The afternoon’s last torero was David Galván showed the desire and wherewithal to triumph and cut two ears from the third bull. Despite having created certain expectation as a novillero, since taking the alternative a couple of years ago, Galván has found opportunities hard to come by. This afternoon great intelligence to mould his toreo to the bull’s needs throughout the faena, and complimenting this with a sense of spectacle to ensure that the crowd enjoyed and understood his work. Therefore, although the faenas main substance was good toreo en redondo. However, he supplemented this with toreo de rodillas that engaged the crowd and some excellent ojedismo to conclude in a way that would please the aficionado. A good estocada proved the final catalyst to the two ears and the triumph.

Unfortunately, the final bull of the corrida was its worst. It was strong, but lacked the commitment to give a full charge to the muleta. He would reach the torero’s jurisdiction, stop charging and look for the torero. Galván was able to stay superior to the bull with the muleta in his hand, but failed to kill the bull expeditiously.

Nevertheless, I left the plaza very pleased with Galván’s performance; he is another young torero that deserves opportunities to prove himself.

Pamplona 14/07/2014 – Decima de Abono

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Miura Bulls for Javier Castaño, Luís Bolívar & Esau Fernandez

The feria ended today with the always intriguing Miuras. If only for their stunning presence, it is a pleasure to see a string of Miuras. Their behaviour in the ring, however, is unpredictable. There are noble Miuras, dangerous Miuras and even bland ones; such variety is welcome.

Luís Bolívar cut the last ear of the feria. It was off the second bull, one of the two decent Miuras lidiados today. Bolívar was able to take advantage of its repetitive charge to structure his faena around a number of vibrant and well linked series of derechazos. The passes were not always clean, and his toreo en redondo came across as slightly mechanical. There was also some pleasing toreo al natural, although, given the numerous enganchones and the poor timing displayed with this hand, the series on the left horn were more inconsistent. However, we should judge Luís in the context that he opponent was a Miura and, bearing this in mind, it was a good faena.  Bolívar finished his faena with some molinetes on his knees in an attempt to ignite the crowd. The estocada was accompanied by a spectacular voletreta, from which Bolívar was fortunate to escape unscathed. Nevertheless, the emotion created by the tossing no doubt helped him secure the ear that was awarded following an almost unanimous petition.

Bolivar’s second bull was a striking looking salinero bull. It did not give away any charges, but had a level of mobility and vigour that allowed Bolívar to build a faena. It also repeated its charges, a quality that Bolívar exploited in order to perform several nicely linked series en redondo with both hands, although the bull charged better on the right side. The bull lacked the classy charge that would have allowed a well-rounded faena, but the fact that it kept measuring Bolívar during each pass gave the work an emotive edge.  This was a tough bull to square up for the kill, leading to an ineffective estocada al encuentro – a surer sword thrust might have led to a petition for an ear.

Javier Castaño’s lot both shared the unfortunate handicap of weakness. The first bull had a classy charge on is left side that Castaño used to execute a couple of admirable series of naturales. His right horn was poorer, Castaño was therefore correct in limiting his interventions on this side as a token attempt to showcase the bull’s difficulty. A pity that the bull was not even just slightly stronger. Given his weakness, however, the faena was always teetering on the brink between taking flight into an emotive work and falling into the abyss of mediocrity. Just when it seemed that the faena would dissipate into nothing, Castaño resorted to a series of spectacular passes with the reverse of his right hand, concluded with a chest pass on his knees.

His second bull shared his first’s weakness, but lacked its quality. The bull was always looking for its prey and never charged through the pass; he would stop half way and look for Castaño. Javier did well to perform some clean half passes, however, this defensive toreo was never going to truly move the crowd. As is the case with modern faenas, it lasted some five minutes too long; once the torero confirms that the bull is impossible he should machetear and kill, not hang around aimlessly trying to strike an improbable jackpot.

One of the pleasures of seeing Castaño on the bill is being able to enjoy his wonderful cuadrilla. Unfortunately, David Adalid is still convalescing from a recent cornada. Nevertheless, Fernando Sánchez executed two measured, artistic and risky pairs of banderillas.

The final bull of the feria had a vigorous and noble. Esau Fernández gave him some distance and executed some admirable series of derechazos. They were well linked, but perhaps executed a tad briskly and with a superficial manner. However, given the bull’s provenance and the torero’s lack of experience, the faena was enjoyable. He peppered his fundamental toreo with some chest passes on his knees. The performance lost some momentum when he took the left hand; the charge was equally vibrant, but Esau was unable to link the passes as he had done with the right hand. Back on derechazos, the bull kept on charging and Fernández kept on toreando. It was an effervescent and jovial faena (no mean feat considering this was a Miura) that would have earned the young matador an ear had he not necessitated numerous pinchazos to kill the bull.

Esau first bull posed difficulty through a lack of casta and commitment. Esau tried to perform meaningful toreo, but with such raw material, it was impossible.

It is just to highlight Curro Robles’ two pair of banderillas to this sixth bull. His banderillas were more spectacular than artistic, relying on his physical ability rather than style to create emotion.

Pamplona 13/07/2014 – Novena de Abono

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Adolfo Martín Bulls for Diego Urdiales, Manuel Escribano & Alberto Aguilar

After four days of Domecq bulls (with mixed, but generally positive, results), I was looking forward to the variety afforded by these saltillos.

The afternoon opened with a bull that, after banderillas, presented itself as mansito, reservón with a reticent charge. To top it all off he stayed short after each pass. Urdiales did his best to try and extract something out of the bull, but it was not to be. He was unable to keep the muleta in the bull’s face between each pass and the faena came to nothing. It would have been tough to stay still, not rectify one’s footing and try to link the passes. Such a plan would have probably ended in failure. Ultimately, Urdiales did well to stay out of harm’s way, but the lack of faena and uncertain sword work turned the crowd against him and he hear jeers.

Escribano went to the toriles to greet his first bull with a larga cambiada a porta gayola. This was another difficult bull, as it showed during the tercio banderillas, cutting Escribano during his cuarteo. The banderillas were pleasing and placed square to the bull. Escribano added a hint of variety performing a quiebro al violín to conclude the tercio. The faena began with some passes cambiados – it was perhaps not the best choice given the difficulty posed by the bull, but they were emotive. Losing steps between each pass Escribano began constructing a faena on the right horn. The second series was performed al natural; the bull’s charge was very short and Escribano was unable to complete the pass, he also readjusted his positioning between each natural giving the faena a staccato feel. When the bull does not charge, it is nigh on impossible to perform meaningful toreo. Escribano tried to complete the faena with an arrimón, but this was barely possible. He thus structure the faena’s climax around a desplante de rodillas holding the bull’s horn. A succession of pinchazos annoyed the crowd.

The third was another poor bull; its charge lacked commitment and class. Aguilar resorted to perform brisk, but continued, passes with the left hand. Some were al natural, but the majority were a dos manos, with the sword supporting the flaps of the muleta. Another meritorious effort that, necessarily, because of the bull’s inherent problems, lacked a hook.

The feeling at the half way point was pitiful; the bull’s lack of quality had made toreo impossible. The trio of toreros performed admirably enough, but the afternoon lacked emotion due to the disinterested bulls.

Unfortunately, the fourth bull was cut from the same cloth as its predecessors. Rather than charge at the muleta it would stare at it and not follow. Every now and again the muleta would peek the bull’s curiosity and he would follow it, but without conveying any emotion. Urdiales did well in stealing the odd moment of interest in the bull, and as the faena progressed he also managed to construct some meaningful series. I thought Urdiales did well. He persisted, built on the bull’s strong points (it was noble), ignoring its failing (its patent lack of casta and emotion), and gave us a faena at least worthy of the name. His work was undone as he took too long to focus the bull for the estocada, this tested the crowd’s patience and led to the pinchazo that preceded a crafty estocada.

Escribano strode out to meet the fifth bull aiming to please, and once again headed to the puerta de chiqueros for another larga cambiada de rodillas. His spectacle continued with a well-executed tercio de banderillas. Escribano is by no means a purist or an artist with the sticks, but his work is neater than many others who have based their career around their brilliance with the banderillas. The third par al quiebro citing the bull while sat on the boards was especially striking. However, the performance collapsed along with the bull’s charge in the tercio de muleta. The bull reached the muleta with a problematic charge, it was never fixed on the lure and on the odd occasions that it charged, it would leave the torero’s jurisdiction with his head held high. This disinterested manner conveyed, for the fifth time this afternoon, a manifest lack of casta.

The last bull of this disappointing corrida was perhaps the worst, combining all the negative traits of its brothers. Its initial vigour was based on anger rather than bravery, but, betraying the absence of casta, he would finish the charge looking disinterested, his head pointing in every direction that was not the muleta. Aguilar tried to extract passes with the muleta from the bull, but it was impossible.

This was a tough corrida, with testing bulls. However, their difficulty was not based on bravery but rather on a complete lack of substance. Disappointing as this corrida was, I like to promote a fiesta with a variety of encastes; I will therefore not turn my back on the Adolfos. However, just as I abhor Domecq corridas that are populated with weak, dumb bulls; it would be disingenuous of me to give these bovines a pass today merely because of their grey coat.