Last
weekend we were treated to what was, ultimately, a disappointing feria de
Valdemorillo. Our taurine starved souls welcomed this short February feria when
it was announced, but the lacklustre bulls and novillos put paid to our desire
for a string of emotive faenas. Furthermore, once it finished I realised that
the next feria was still a month away, and continuous toros would need to wait
for another couple of months. However, let us not begin on such a bleak note.
Although
the toros were poor, Valdemorillo should serve as the calling card for aspiring
toreros who feel that they have something to contribute to the season. As such
it was moderately effective. Borja Jiménez continued to show that he is one of
the leading novilleros and may indeed forge a solid career in the senior
escalafón, while Escudero displayed an aptitude that should hold him in good
stead for an alternativa that will surely arrive this season.
As
far as the full matadors are concerned, Gallo gave a solid performance with the
Pereda bulls, albeit without dispelling any lingering doubts over his long term
prospects and Curro Díaz reminded us that his shining class will be a welcome
addition to any cartel during the course of this season. Escribano continued to
show that, with the correct marketing and promotion, he is a viable alternative
to the tired line ups of popular, spectacular toreros aimed at the casual fan –
then I remembered that toreo’s own marketing is entirely absent and the
“system” is unlikely to effectively promote this asset effectively.
Above
all, however, this feria will be remembered for Victor Barrio’s excellent
performance. Above his variety with the capote and muleta, what impressed me
was his ability to do the difficult things well. In order to be a consistent
torero, one must be able to extract a worthy faena to average bulls and torear
well en redondo. The faena to his first Cebada was a perfect example of the
former and the performance to close the feria exemplified the latter – despite
all of toreo’s technical developments and the variety that is possible with the
muleta, well executed toreo en redondo is still the basis for the very best
performances. Both these elements made Barrio’s afternoon particularly
impressive.
Therefore,
if we view the function of Valdemorillo to serve as a shop window for aspiring
toreros fighting for contracts, its results were entirely acceptable as we were
able to assess and enjoy a range of toreros that we would not usually see on
the feria circuit. However, in order for the feria to be worthwhile in the
grand scheme of toreo there should be a succession of new contracts for the
triumphant toreros so that they may show whether the positive performance was a
happy coincidence or the sign of an improving torero. This is where toreo’s
system fails us once again.
The
afición is asking for a fresh approach to cartels, but those that have been
offered by the impresarios of Castellón and Valencia, despite their welcome
inclusion of the principal figuras, come across as increasingly stale.
Castellón, for example, has programmed eight of the nine toreros that performed
in the 2014 feria. The only change? Paqurri
in for El Cordobés, certainly not a
swap that reflects the development of toreo in 2014.
The
impresarios will of course argue that they programme the toreros that the
public at large wants to see, and the public is still attracted to fading
popular stars from the 1990s[1]. I agree that ferias
should programme the toreros who the impresario feels will attract the most
public to the plaza and I recognise that the figuras from the 1990s gossip mags
still have pulling power[2], but, my reply would be
what has been done to promote new toreros in the interim?
The
impresarios expect each torero to torear and do their own PR – surely it is in
the interest of toreo as a whole to promote new toreros. Evidently not. The two
pronged approach needed to try to launch new toreros, first, opening up cartels
to include new toreros and secondly a public relations campaign to promote the
most worthy toreros and highlight their triumphs, is conspicuous by its
absence.
This
is why we are left with an entirely repetitive Feria de Fallas and de Castellón.
I have no objections to the programming of figuras, it’s the fillers (we all
know who these are) that leave me underwhelmed. All the while good, young
toreros, such as Juan del Álamo, José Garrido and Victor Barrio are left at
home searching for new contracts. This is no good for la fiesta, even if it
leaves space for Paquirri to open up
a cartel for the figuras and brings in some casual viewers seeking a peak at
their gossip hero of twenty years ago. It may bring bums on seats in the short
term[3], but is not good for the
long term development of a young generation of toreros that the afición wants
to see.
[1] An
indication that the fiesta needs a new generation of aficionados who are taken
with gossip stars of the 2010s?
[2]
Last year a local feria programmed as its sole corrida El Cordobés, Padilla and El
Fandi – a depressing cartel for an aficionado if I ever saw one. I was
discussing the corrida with my barber, who says he likes los toros, but has no
way to engage with the fiesta other than through the odd local cartel. I was
saying how I would prefer a cartel of young toreros who could offer a worthy
spectacle. His reply was that he was happy with the cartel, because El Cordobés was the best torero around.
For all of Manuel Díaz’s qualities (not least the ease with which he engages
the crowd) surely it is in the interest of toreo as a whole to promote a
younger generation of worthy toreros whose name my barber would recognise.
[3]
This is debatable, despite the allure of Spain’s best torero, my barber did not
go to last year’s corrida. The aficionados did though, and they wondered why on
earth they could not catch a performance by David Galván instead.
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