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.