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

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

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

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

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.

Pamplona 12/07/14 – Octava De Abono

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

Fuente Ymbro bulls for Juan José Padilla, Pepe Moral & Jiménez Fortes.

Pamplona is one of Juan José Padilla’s talismanic rings. His jovial bravery chimes well with the boisterous peñas and Padilla has never been one to shirk the big, tough bulls of the northern feria.  This helps give some context to explain the thunderous welcome Padilla received from Pamplona today; Padilla reciprocated. He triumphed in the only way he knows, by giving his all in each toro and creating a spectacle through spectacular (though not profound) toreo.

Padilla received the first bull of the afternoon with no less than four larga cambiadas de rodillas. The bull charged well at the capotes, and Padilla made the best of it; a quite by navarras, some delaales and a galleo to the horse. It was not memorable toreo, but it was well received. After an acceptable tercio de banderillas, Padilla performed one of his typical faenas. That is, inconsistent, but surprisingly pleasing fundamental toreo, capped with a populist arrimón. I can live without the desplantes on his knees and the circulares, however, communicating with one’s audience is a necessary skill for a performance artist, and Padilla has his quality in spades. I would much rather recall a very well timed series of long low derechazos that, although short, was meritorious, and some naturales de frente that served as a short tribute to Manolo Vazquez. The bull was classy, but failed to readily repeat charges; Padilla was correct in gaining a pass between each muletazos when necessary in order to ensure that its charge was continuous. A solid estocada gave him an ear.

Padilla cut another ear from his second bull in order to secure the puerta grande. Once again, Padilla was active with the cape, performing a larga cabiada and a series of acceptable veronicas to welcome the bull into the arena, some delantales to take the bull to the horse, and a quite by chicuelinas.  Padilla’s desire to please was more noteworthy than his toreo. Another formulaic tercio de banderillas served to focus the crowd’s attention on the ring after their mid-corrida snack; the pair al violin usually conveys little emotion to me, but the public love it. Who am I to argue with them? The bull arrived at the muleta with his strength in tact and a vibrant charge. Padilla was able to temper the bravura with well-timed toreo en redondo. His naturales were particularly low, slow and smooth. The faena was perhaps too inconsistent to be truly moving, but it was perfectly enjoyable. The bull’s charge was not as frank on its right horn, but Padilla solved this problem by resorting to a desplante. The molinetes and pases de pecho de rodillas, finished with another desplante on his knees, served to ignite the crowd enough for them to petition for another ear notwithstanding the pinchazo prior to the estocada.

The two orejas that Padilla cut today pale in comparison with those earned by Miguel Ángel Perera yesterday; Padilla triumphed by performing for the crowd, Perera by toreando a pair of tough bulls. I know which route to triumph I prefer, but I cannot deny that Padilla moved a great deal of people to applaud and cheer his work today – life’s too short to piss on their bonfire. There is no harm enjoying and valuing Padilla for what he is: a popular torero that aims to please.

Pepe Moral came into the cartel to substitute David Mora. Moral recently cut two ears in Sevilla (in the Corpus Christi corrida). The Casa de la Misericordia was, to my mind, correct to offer him the substitution. A triumph in Sevilla, even out of feria time, should be rewarded.

Unfortunately, his first bull was manso and prevented the possibility of a faena. The bull would accept the first pass in the series, but escape at the second towards his querencia. Once Moral followed him to the querencia, the bull was reticent to charge. As is usual in these cases, the matador spent too long in front of the bull, it was clear that the bull did not have a faena, but Moral tried in vain to perform toreo of note. I can understand the kid’s predicament, but, in these circumstances, I think the quicker the bull is killed the better.

Thankfully, the narrative changed with the fifth bull. Moral was able to ratify his sevillian triumph and demonstrate a profound, sober toreo of note. This bull had a deep charge that Moral was able to exploit with a solid fundamental faena performed with both hands. His toreo is engaged, well timed and pure. It surprising that a torero that has been marginalised during his whole career (this was only his ninth corrida in six seasons) can produce work of such merit. He concluded his faena with the typical modern arrimón. However, rather than the posturing at close quarters that sometimes is sold to us as ojedismo, this was good figure of eight toreo whereby the torero used his position close to the bull as a legitimate technique to extract long passes from it. After a clean sword thrust Moral was awarded an ear. I am looking forward to seeing him again, let’s hope the system gives him another chance!

Jiménez Fortes drew the worst lot. Both of his faenas were long, but not memorable. I am loathe to say that he had a poor afternoon. He was firm throughout and showcased his widely recognised bravery. However, Fortes lacked the technical wherewithal to solve the problems posed by his lacklustre bulls. Moreover, his timing was off kilter which led to an excessive amount of enganchones. Fortes’ valour means that it is worth waiting for him to mature as a torero, however, based on yesterday’s showing, it may be preferable to give such opportunity to Moral too.      

Pamplona 11/07/14 – Septima de Abono

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

 

Jandilla bulls for Sebastián Castella, Miguel Ángel Perera & Iván Fandiño.

Pamplona is the Feria del Toro. Its unique selling point is the spectacular presentation of the bulls, rather than the toreros who face them. The cartels are generally constructed around toros and ganaderías that interest the aficionado, and toreros that inspire less confidence. However, there are always a couple of corridas which include the figuras and other top toreros; yesterday was one of those days. Sebastián Castella, the brave Frenchman who I saw perform well in Algeciras a few weeks back, Miguel Ángel Perera, arguably the leading torero of 2014 and Iván Fandiño, a torero that continues his upward curve towards figura status.

The first bull of the afternoon was noble, but weak, thereby inhibiting his charge somewhat. Castella began with soft doblones that did not suit the bull’s fragile condition. He then opted, correctly, to take the bull to the centre of the ring and began to torear in redondo with his right hand.  The four series that followed were good, but lacked emotion due to the bull’s weakness, it lacked the strength to add profoundness to its nobility. Nevertheless, Castella linked his passes well, gaining a step between pass where necessary and staying completely still when possible. When he took the left hand the bull was nearly finished and its charge was very short; despite these inconveniences he performed a couple of meritorious naturales. The possibility of an ear was lost through poor sword work.

Castella drew another noble but weak bull in fourth. It had a classier charge and allowed Castella to paint some excellent individual derechazos. However, it run out of gas after a couple of series and prevented Sebastián from completing his performance. On the face of it, Castella seemingly had the best lot from a torero’s perspective; they were both noble and allowed the torero to be comfortable. However, these qualities are deceptive. Unless the class is accompanied by a mobile and profound charge, these bulls allow the torero to be comfortable, but they do not lend themselves to great faenas. A torero like Castellla needs some more punch in his bulls.

For great faenas you need bulls like Perera’s first, it had great mobility and an edge of temper. Miguel Ángel had the best medicine for these symptoms, a low dominant muleta good timing. After two testing series with the right hand, by the third, Perera had him dominated and performed some excellent toreo en redondo. The bull’s mobility shone through, and Perera had tempered its anger; the toreo was truly vibrant. The jandilla was harder to dominate with the left hand and the faena lost some momentum.  Not to worry, Perera took the right hand again and built the faena to a crescendo. The bull saw nothing but muleta as the torero spun him round his body in an assured fashion. It was easy to forget that the bull had a core of dangerous casta and he was ready to pounce on any mistake. To reinforce his utter dominance, Perera concluded with simply outstanding figure of eight toreo. After taking the real sword, the faena was garnished with some smoothly executed manoletinas. The excellent sword thrust underscored this excellent faena that was unfairly only given one ear. In any event, I will not allow the palco’s unseemly decision obscure the worth (or my enjoyment) of this faenón.

His second bull was less demanding, it was just as noble as Castella’s pair, but with greater mobility (thereby allowing for significant toreo). Perera opponent lacked an edge of commitment and kept its head too high to be a truly good bull. Nevertheless, the torero took advantage of the bull’s positive qualities through his firm attitude. Miguel Ángel managed to link good series en redondo with his left and right hand, although each seemed slightly superficial given the bull’s lack of commitment. However, Perera’s great virtue this afternoon has been his ability to iron out each bull’s defects in order to make them each charge well by the end of the faena. Therefore, by the concluding series en redondo, Perera had succeeded in lowering the bull’s head and was able to conclude with well linked figure of eight torero and some cleanly executed luquesinas. A pinchazo and an estocada allowed him to cut the ear to open he puerta grande. An excellent afternoon from this figurón. Miguel Ángel Perera has consolidated his position at the top of toreo. Along with El Juli, I think he is called to dominate toreo for the coming years.

There was nothing doing with the third bull. It had a difficult and disconcerting charge. Fandiño managed the odd meaningful pass, but was unable to link two of these together. He spent a great deal of time in front of the bull without managing to create a faena; after Perera’s stunning faena to the challenging second bull, this performance (albeit with a tough bull) was underwhelming and conservative.

The final bull of the afternoon was disconcerting. It seemed to charge well in spurts, before losing momentum. I cannot help but think that had Fandiño stood up to the bull, stayed firm between each pass and kept the muleta in the bull’s face we might have a seen a good faena. Instead, Fandiño gave a reserved performance, with too many pauses and a focus on re-positioning himself between each pass. The oreja he cut was inconsequential, notwithstanding the good sword thrust. Although Fandiño’s lot was by no means ideal, one cannot help but wonder how the emphatic Perera would have fared.

 

Pamplona 08/07/14 – Cuarta de Abono

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

 

Dolores Aguirre bulls for Uceda Leal, Francisco Marco & Paulita.

On paper this corrida seemed to bring together a promising string of bulls, and some underwhelming toreros. Of course, anyone who faces a bull deserves my respect; however, it is also incumbent upon the aficionado to, respectfully, opine on the relative worth of the toreros. To my mind, Uceda has been a dignified, elegant, but inconsistent torero; Francisco Marco appears as the token local in Pamplona and several other northern ferias; and Paulita has found a space in these cartels after thirteen years of trying and some recent small time triumphs. Therefore, the trio did not fill me with promise. Dolores Aguirre bulls, on the other hand, generally serve up a varied and interesting spectacle. They have a reputation as being tough, however, I have enjoyed many a noble and classy Dolores.

The first three bulls followed a similar pattern. Each of them was noble and mobile; their charges were not vigorous, but could be profound and classy if the muleta was presented to them correctly. Unfortunately, none of the toreros was up to the task, and the three faenas foundered among the doubts of each of the performers.

Uceda’s bull had an edge of mansedumbre, but came and went well enough to allow for a faena. However, Uceda never managed to fix it on his muleta, and the chance of success was lost among the numerous flaps of this muleta.

Francisco Marco lacked the wherewithal to consistently torear his bull properly. The odd enganchon and frequent doubts about his placing prevented anything more that the odd good pass to this good bull. On the few occasions that Marco did muster the decisiveness to stay still and link his passes, the bull responded with profound charges. Such moments were, unfortunately few and far between. The Pamplona crowd were feeling generous and indulged him with an ovation.

Similarly, Paulita was only able to perform inconsistently with his classy third bull. Perhaps backing up his recent minor triumphs, Paulita was more confident than Marco and managed two or three worthwhile series. However, these were interspersed in a sea of doubt as the bull exhausted its charges on passes that were not to the level that it deserved.

Uceda spent little energy on his second bull. He opted four three pics, when the bull did not necessarily require them, and performed a short faena de aliño – three or four half-hearted doblones that did not serve to dominate the bull, were the limited prologue to the estocada. On one side, I would rather a short faena that a torero wasting our time posturing before a bull without success. However, this bull did not seem so bad as to solely merit doblones.

Francisco Marco had another fruitless performance with the fifth bull. It was not as classy as his first and had the added inconvenience of angry casta – however, he might had been able to build a faena by standing up to the bull with firmness. Another, wasted opportunity, but it would be overly critical to expect anything further from a torero facing his first corrida of the season.

The final act of this sad corrida continued the established theme. The bull stayed short in the opening capotazos. Rather than seeking to remedy this defect with judicious capework, Paulita ordered his picador to give the bull two hard pics. Miraculously, this did not completely destroy the bull. It still had the ability to give a few good charges to the muleta. However, the torero was not able to fully extract these qualities and the corrida ended with another non-entity of a faena.

I wrote the opening paragraph before the corrida started, I am sad to say I was proved right. The bulls were clearly superior to the toreros. A trio of toreros that have already said most of their piece in the fiesta. Given the reduced number of corridas, and thus reduced opportunities to young up an coming toreros, it would be suitable of questioning the wisdom of hiring these veterans in decline (what a difference to, for example, Miguel Abellán, who’s toreo displayed maturity and development twenty four hours earlier). I am not saying that this was a great corrida, but rather one did not develop as it might due to the toreros’ shortcomings. An opportunity that they wasted. I, for one, would have enjoyed seeing these bulls with a set of promising youngsters, or proven toreros in their prime.

 

 

Pamplona 07/07/14 – Tercera de Abono

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

Torrestrella bulls for Antonio Ferrera, Miguel Abellán & Daniel Luque. The Torrestrella bulls' disconcerting behaviour marked this corrida. While not particularly bad, they each had mobility and none was overtly manso, there was barely a classy charge to be had. A lack of strength and commitment prevented the bulls from allowing a truly complete faena. However, Luque and Abellán were able to extract enough from their opponents to give aficionados a useful picture of their positive current form. Antonio Ferrera, meanwhile, had a mixed afternoon. Ferrera’s first bull galloped a great deal in the first two tercios, but its charge was undefined as he took the muleta. Antonio did not give his best tercio de banderillas, the first two pairs were clearly a toro pasado, only the last pair was executed square to the bull’s horns. Ferrera began with doblones to try to fix the bull to his muleta, but unfortunately the bull’s charge decanted itself towards blandness. Ferrera constructed a clean and smooth faena based around series en redondo with both hands. There were the odd good passes and pleasing series; a technically correct faena that as a whole lacked emotion. The fourth bull was cut from a similar cloth. Antonio Ferrera spent a great deal of time with the muleta, but was unable to make a faena of it. It would have been prefereable to reach for the sword much sooner. Once again, his banderillas were subpar; only an acceptable pair al quiebro stood out. Abellan’s saludo capotero to the beautiful ensabanado bull run second was emotive; two larga cambiadas, slow, low veronicas and a media on his kness – a very good calling card from this rejuvenated veteran. He also took the bull to the horse with some pretty chicuelinas al paso, showing both the bull’s class and his positive disposition. Abellán opted for a spectacular opening to his faena, on his knees in the centre of the ring. This excited the peñas, but the truly moving pass was a desdén once on his feet. Unfortunately, the faena subsequently dissipated to nothing. The bull lacked the strength to support a faena, and it all came to nothing. A clean and well executed estocada brought the second act to a close. Miguel Abellán suffered a tear in his abductors during the estocada to his first bull, and took some painkillers to be able to come out and face his second. Although he was visibly impaired by the injury, he was able to give us the faena of the afternoon. If his performance to the second bull was based on desire, here we saw a fresh and relaxed torero perform slow, linked toreo fundamental with both hands. The concluding manoletinas served as a nod to the peñas that enjoy overtly spectacular toreo. The faena led to a deserved ear for a torero that, in the autumn of his career, deserves a place in the ferias circuit – a triumph in San Isidro and San Fermín certainly merits attention. Daniel Luque’s first bull was problematic. Despite its mobility, its charge lacked class and it would quickly twitch back towards the torero at the end of each pass. Nevertheless, Luque was up to the challenge; using good timing and a firm muleta which he always kept in the bull’s face, Daniel built a good faena that even had the music playing. Perhaps the spectacle of the faena itself did not merit music, but the technical worth of the faena was substantial. Unfortunately, the condition of the sixth bull was similar. There was little for Luque to do other than show his assuredness before the bull. It was mobile and thus allowed Luque to perform some well time individual passes, but it lacked the commitment for the passes to have real emotion. The highlight of the performance was an excellent series of four naturales, well link and long, they gave us he hope that the faena could develop. It was not to be. However, what shone through this afternoon that Luque has consolidated his toreo. That is: his triumph in San Isidro was not a coincidence. He is still young and may be ready to develop his career to the level that has often been promised, but not yet delivered.

 

 

Pamplona - 05/07/2014 - Primera de Abono

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

 

El Parralejo novillos for Borja Jiménez, Francisco José Espada & Posada de Maravillas.

Borja Jiménez rose to prominence after his spectacular triumph in Sevilla a few weeks ago. I was unable to watch that corrida, but gobbled up the online video offered by the Maestranza website. Although it was difficult to formulate an accurate view of the faenas that led to the triumph, Jiménez struck me as having a similar aesthetic and technical concept to El Juli. That is, all of his toreo is subordinated to the desire of taking the bulls as low, long and templado as possible.

He opened his first faena with a series of test passe, before taking his novillo to the centre of the ring to impose his long, low toreo on it via derechazos. The bull’s charge was informal, but Borja was able to link his toreo en Redondo. It is pleasing, although lacking in emotion due to the bull’s charge. After three series switched to the left hand. The bull’s charge is less repetitive, but, despite this, Borja is able to extract a series, which is again characterised by its smoothness. He fundamental toreo formed the backbone of the faena, but he engaged the crowd with some varied remates to give the faena some extra vitality. A straight volapíe was the last ingredient needed to for the faena to serve up an ear. The faena itself was reasonable, in toreo, we must always judge a torero by his raw material; therefore, given the bull’s questionable quality, Borja had performed very well, and certainly deserved an ear as recognition. 

Francisco José Espada also gave a good account of himself with his first novillo. Its charge was once again informal and lacking focus. However, Espada tried, and at times succeeded, in imposing his stylish toreo enredondo on the bull. He is an elegant torero, who likes to lower his hand to the bull. Unfortunately, the bull lacked vigour and often lost its footing. Perhaps Espada ought to have forsaken his concept of low muletazos and sought to perform a faena a media altura, but, even so, it is unlikely the performance would have amounted to more than the ovation (and minority petition for an ear) he received. A just recognition to the positive impression Espada gave.

Posada de Maravillas soon spotted that his novillo was a different proposition to its two predecessors and began to torear in redondo immediately. The series were well linked and accompanied by Posada’s striking aesthetic concept. The chest passes were especially long, rounded and profound. The faena kept its momentum when he took the left hand, his toreo al natural was beautifully exected. Perhaps the faena lacked an element of repose that would have allowed the crowd to savour his toreo. However, after the disconcerting performances Posada had given in Valencia and Madrird, this was a faena worthy of a leading novillero. Some circulares gave an exciting end to the faena, and only two pinchazos prevented him from cutting an ear or (if the Pamplona crowd was feeling charitable) two. Sadly, while giving the second pinchazo Posada cut his hand and his afternoon was over.

The fourth novillo was perfect for Jiménez – it had a long, smooth and classy charge, with just enough drive to prevent it from being bland. Once again, it was striking how long and low Borja takes the bull – I see many toreros who focus more on their aesthetic expression than in torear. Borja is the opposite, his aim is engaging the bull with the cloth and controlling its long and low path during the pass. His derechazos were nicely linked, using the bull’s own momentum to construct the series. The naturales were even longer, with the young novillero using the flaps of the muleta to take the bull that extra foot with his left hand – as it should be. Borja Jimenéz also has a sense of how to structure a faena to a crescendo, the crescendo being a couple of well-timed circular passes. He sprinkled his performance with some attractive remates; the molinetes added variety, and his emphatic desdén underlined his superiority. Another straight sword thrust allowed him to cut two well-deserved ears. The novillo earned a vuelta al ruedo.

Francisco José Espada was determined not to be entirely outshone by his fellow novillero and managed to cut an ear from the fifth novillo. This novillo did allow Espada to fully explore his concept of toreo; it had the vitality to support his low, demanding toreo. What I have most enjoyed about Espada is his class. Like Jiménez, he does seek to torear before posing; but his elegant manner pleasantly underscores his toreo. Perhaps his vertical, encajado style prevents his passes from being as long as they could be. But this is a question of style rather than a fault. Unfortunately, the novillo lacked stamina, and only lasted a few series. Espada also overstayed his welcome before the bull and the last couple of minutes was the novillero extracting uni-passes before a leaden bull.  Sure sword use confirmed the ear that his faena, and afternoon as a whole, deserved.

The corrida concluded with another solid faena from Borja Jiménez. The bull lacked class and mobility, but Borja was able to extract some worthwhile passes from it. The faena was scrappy, due to the bull’s condition, but animated given the novillero’s disposition to please. It was not a novillo that could lead to a triumph, rather, like Espada’s first novillo, it helped show a novillero that was able to overcome a problematic opponent.

Thus concluded a thoroughly entertaining afternoon that gave us good toreo, and, more importantly, allowed us to enjoy three promising novilleros. There seems to be a promising crop of young novilleros, it’s a pity that, at this critical time, the fiesta seems to be neglecting such an important part of its own development.