SEVILLA 23/04/2015 - Octava de Feria

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

Victorino Martín Bulls for Antonio Ferrera, El Cid and Manuel Escribano.

The Victorino bulls were enough of a draw today to bring attract an almost full plaza – another reminder early this season that, programmed in the correct way, intriguing bulls bring in the crowds (and, perhaps, an indication that, contrary to my observations earlier this week, the absence of the G4 figuras may not have been as detrimental to this feria as to the 2014 edition). Of course, the toreros billed with the Victorinos were a logical trio. Antonio Ferrera, triumphed with these bulls in La Maestranza last year, cutting an ear with the best faena of the feria. El Cid has been the Victorino specialist of his generation but is undoubtedly on the wane – this corrida presented itself as a warm up for his encerrona with Victorinos in San Isidro. I fancy that the encerrona may be a bridge to far for the veteran Cid, today would give us a better idea of his current form. Manuel Escribano has been able to salvage his career on the back of a stand out performance with Miuras in Sevilla a couple of years ago. He has since carved a niche for himself combining his jovial concept of toreo with tough corridas, a career path that held Juan José Padilla in good stead for over ten years.

Ferrera’s opening bull had a dozy charge that was reminiscent of the Mexican Saltillo. Ferrera was assured throughout, but the bull’s charge lacked the vitality to be moulded into emotive toreo. The banderillas, shared with Manuel Escribano, were correctly placed. Muleta in hand, Ferrera was able to carefully time the charge with either hand, the series were cleanly executed, but did not ignite the crowd given the bull’s characteristics.

The fourth bull gave a strong performance in pics (an unfortunately rare occurrence) pushing the horse some distance on occasions, withstanding a strong punishment and charging from several metres out for the second pic. The bull continued to charge powerfully in banderillas with Ferrera completing a solid tercio. After dedicating the bull to the crowd, Ferrera began his performance with tester passs that confirmed the Victorino’s vibrancy, although it displayed the worrying tenedency of leaving the torero’s jurisdiction too readily. When it did charge, though, placed its head low and followed the lures with desire. Ferrera channelled this supremely profound charge into a couple of emotive series of derechazos that got the music playing. Ferrera’s toreo al natural was slightly more untidy to begin, the bull retained the threat that it would become rajado while Ferrera was unsure whether to stay still or readjust his footing between each pass – nevertheless, Ferrera was able to extract some silky naturales. Back on the right hand, in the centre of the ring, Ferrera took the faena to a higher level by keeping the lure right in the bull’s face and seamlessly linking five slow and long naturales. Another excellent series of derechazos followed by a series of passes naturales and cambiados taking the bull from the centre of the ring to the tercio served to close this truly supreme faena. There was still time for some doblones after he had taken the real sword and the inevitable murmur of “indulto” – had we been in the provinces the call may have spread, but the petition was quickly silenced (the bull was instead rightly awarded a posthumous vuelta). Unfortunately Ferrera needed various entries with the sword and therefore lost a certain two ears.

I would have liked to have seen El Cid from 2005, rather than his 2015 version, with this afternoon’s bulls. In 2005, Manuel Jesus might have cut a couple of ears from this lot, perhaps more. In 2015 he floundered. El Cid’s bull was a technically challenging animal that required conviction in order to be able to unlock its charge. Manuel Jesus was unable to do so and was therefore only able to extract isolated good passes; the faena teetered on the brink of emotion, but El Cid lacked the wherewithal to link a whole series so his work dissipated into nothing.

The fifth bull of the afternoon was a fierce customer. El Cid needed to be assured and dominant in order to face the challenge posed by the animal. Once again he came short. Where a low hand, good timing and firmness were needed, all El Cid displayed were doubts. It was disheartening to see El Cid overcome by his inability to hold his nerve. Here was torero that had understood the saltillo bull so well and repeatedly showed the valour to extract worthy faenas from dangerous Victorinos but now seemed to be reaching the end of his road. While I wish him all the best for his encerrona, I cannot help but think that a solid performance is beyond him. 

Escribano returned the favour to Ferrera and invited him to place banderillas to the third bull. The highlight of the tercio was Escribano’s pair combining a quiebro and the violin up against the boards – a risky effort that connected with the crowd. The bull’s charge was noble and delicate; Escribano was able to rise to the occasion and torear with the slowness the bull required. The highlight was the third series, al natural, characterised by long, well timed passes. However, the bull was, after all, a Victorino and it suddenly got the measure of Escribano – it guessed that there was a man behind the lure and its focus change towards chopping its way through passes in an attempt to catch Escribano. Manuel was able to withstand the bull’s stops and starts and once again managed to unlock its long charges in a very emotive and risky series of .beautifully crafted naturales. He killed with a tightly executed full sword thrust that gave Escribano the first ear of the afternoon.   

The sixth bull was disconcerting. Escribano placed he banderillas on his own on this ocaacion and gave us a spectacular tercio capped with a par al quiebro calling the bull while sat on the boards – the banderillas were cleanly placed and their tight execution brough the crowd to its feet. The bull reached the muleta full of vigour and Escribano struggled to control it early on. However, just as it seemed as if the bull was imposing its will on Escribano, it stopped charging. We are left with the question of whether, with better control in the early part of the faena, the bull would have lasted longer. This would probably have been, but, ultimately, I am not sure that the bull would have given us a memorable faena in any event. 

SEVILLA 22/04/2015 – Séptima Corrida

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

 

Parladé bulls for Enrique Ponce, Sebastián Castella and José Garrido (who took the alternativa).

Another figura cartel and another full plaza. Yesteryear La Maestranza would be full from the pre-feria Thursday until the closing corrida. It was understandable, there was generally a full complement of figuras and the world’s aficón would flock to the city (the empresa would always try to wangle a conflict with a top torero, to reduce costs, presumably, but a single absence could be absorbed by the feria). However, in the last couple of years the panorama has changed, the empresa has ostracised most of the principal figuras – who are not entirely blameless, it takes two to tango – and the afición has stayed away. So far this feria the only full plazas have been on the days that wither Ponce or Manzanares has appeared, the other days the plaza has been half full. It will be interesting to see the pull of the Miuras and the Victorino bulls in the final stretch of the feria.

Ponce was making his second and final appearance of the feria. He undoubtedly has one last Sevilla triumph in him before he retires, all Enrique needs is a minimally compliant lot of bulls. Would today be the day? I was looking forward to watching Castella, he has always been a supremely brave torero that struggled with toreo en redondo. However, over the past year there has been a reposed element to his work and promisingly Sebastián has started the season in similar style in Valencia. José Garrido was the stand out novillero of 2014 (and indeed of many a season, such was the standard of his campaign), but it is a damning indictment of the way that the fiesta is organised that rather than giving him an early alternativa and prominent early corridas, he has been left to start cold in late April.

The opening bull of the afternoon was sent back to the pen for being lame. Its replacement began nicely, charging with emotion to Garrido’s capote allowing for a stirring series of veronicas capped with a media on his knees. The pleasing capote work continued during a tight quite by chicuelinas, which nearly finished with a tossing as Garrido slightly mistimed the concluding larga cordobesa. The bull’s charge in the muleta third declined, it was mobile but inconsistent and Garrido was only able to perform a couple of good series with the right hand. From the middle of the faena onwards the bull was visibly hobbling and the performance therefore ended on an untidy note.

For a brief moment at the start of the faena de muleta it seemed as if Ponce’s first bull would offer enough quality for a good faena. However, this was just a mirage. Enrique was able to give a couple of controlled mid-height derechazos, but at the third one he lowered the hand and the bull fell. The faena subsequently descended into nothing with the bull becoming ever more reticent to charge. Another poor bull for Ponce in Sevilla. The highlight of his performance was his well-executed and efficient estocada.

Castella’s opener charged beautifully and long to José Chacon’s capote during the early lidia. Previously it had given Garrido the chance to perform a tight and pleasing quite by gaoneras. The stage was therefore set nicely for Castella’s faena de muleta. The bull charged emotively and powerfully to Castella’s opening doblones, it appeared that the animal would require a well-timed and dominant muleta to control its charge. Castella’s first and series of derechazos was excellent. Well timed and long, each pass showed the progress of the Frenchman’s toreo en redondo. The band should have started playing, but the conductor inexplicably opted to remain silent. The bull was slightly more reticent on the left side, but Castella was able to extract enough for a couple of long and profound naturales. Returning to the right side, the faena increased in intensity with longer and slower muletazos – the music now started playing. Unfortunately it was too late. Castella stopped the musicians, he knew that the bull was finished and all that was left was the arrimón. A tight, closely worked and controlled arrimón, it neatly juxtaposed the silky smooth toreo en redondo. If only he had been able to secure a good estocada, rather than the ugly succession of pinchazos, he would have surely cut a thoroughly deserved ear.

Ponce’s second bull was an El Pilar substitute, entirely empty of casta, with whom Ponce tried in vain to perform a faena worthy of the name. However, just as it looked like all was left was to head for the sword, Ponce relied on his superlative timing to tease a number of mid height series en redondo from the bull. A triumph was impossible, but Enrique showed once again his ability of extracting good toreo from a vacuous bull. Thus ended Ponce’s disappointing feria, none of the four bulls faced gave him the slightest chance at a triumph – we will have to wait until next year.

The fifth bull developed a positive charge during the course of the lidia, as it should be. It came out bland and reticent to charge and by banderillas it was galloping towards its targets. José Garrido, active in quite throughout the afternoon, gave an attractive series of chicuelinas capped with a delicate media. However, the bull’s early improvement was deceptive and it only lasted a couple of series with the muleta. Castella started his faena with passes cambiados in the centre of the ring; an exciting opening. Disappointingly, he could only manage a couple of series of toreo fundamental before the bull gave up the ghost and headed for the boards.

Garrido finished the corrida with a nervy and mobile Juan Pedro Domecq bull that displayed the qualities we had expected from its Parladé brothers. The animal’s pressing desire to chase the lure made him a tough proposition for young Garrido who gave us an inconsistent faena. On the occasions that he was able to lower the hand and time the charge, the series en redondo were dominant and emotive. However, this is easier said than done and what we saw was a young matador who faced up to the challenge posed by a tough bull and was not always to impose his will on proceedings. I will not hold this against him, the credit that Garrido has built as a novillero will not be spent with this performance. Besides, there are few toreros that would have fared much better with such an demanding opponent, and a few of them have not been minded to appear in La Maestranza this season.

SEVILLA 21/04/2015 – Sexta Corrida

SEVILLA 21/04/2015 – Sexta Corrida

 

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

 

El Pilar Bulls for Finito de Córdoba, José María Manzanares and Daniel Luque.

Five corridas down and the feria is still waiting for its first important triumph and for the faena that would live in the memory and define the feria. The highlight thus far had been a very good Fuente Ymbro corrida, regrettably wasted by an inexperienced trio. Manzanares had cut a couple of ears on his previous appearance but these owed more to his excellent estocadas rather than his toreo. He has a couple of corridas left in this feria and needs to make a statement. Finito was the chosen opening act, his classy toreo means that I always look forward to seeing him, his inconsistency means I never expect much. Daniel Luque closed the trio, he faced a putrid Montalvo string on his first afternoon; today was his last chance to lay down a sold marker for the season. As always, we wonder, will this be the season that Daniel breaks as a figura?

The El Pilar bulls offered a mixed spectacle. The first three bulls classy to the extreme, verging on sickly sweet, while the last three were disappointing animals that did not allow for good toreo.

Finito’s opener was brave and classy, the ideal bull for his particular brand of elegant toreo. We got a typical Finito performance, wherein the shining toreo was undermined by a certain lack of ambition. The toreo we did see was absolutely wonderful, his toreo al natural with the right hand was long and smooth. He was eve better with the left hand, giving us more long and low passes with an extra profoundness. All of which was underscored by his natural class. In case we needed something more, the accessorial toreo was brilliant, innovative and emphatic. The highlight was a cambio the mano that started like a trincherazo and concluded like a recorte, truly enchanting, magical toreo. Nevertheless, the performance was undermined by the feeling that the bull had enough bravery to allow for a greater more emphatic faena. Finito’s work with the muleta was memorable and would have certainly led to an ear had he killed effectively. The bull, however, called for a truly complete work of art.   

Manzanares first bull was a classy and compliant animal that, nevertheless, lacked the edge of piquancy of the first bull. It had the stamina for a long faena that was built on Manzanares aesthetically pleasing toreo en redondo, principally on its right hand side. However, notwithstanding the length of the faena, once again, I had the impression that something was lacking. If I was presenting the case for the torero, I would point to the bull’s overly classy condition. It would follow the lures obediently and was noble, but ultimately its charge was too sweet to be emotive. However, now fighting from the ganadero’s corner, the torero is required to supplant any element that may be missing from the bull’s behaviour in order to create a worthy piece of art. Therefore, with such a long faena, Manzanares ought to have complimented his superficially beautiful toreo with greater emotion, because, despite the length and of his smooth faena, Manzanares left me disconcertingly cold. That said, there were enough positives that, had he been able to secure an effective estocada, he would have deservedly cut an ear.

The story repeated itself with the third bull. Luque faced a noble animal, but he lacked the repose during the faena to bring the best out of it. There were some notable moments, especially with the cape – a handful of opening veronicas were wonderfully cadenced. However, the toreo fundamental with the muleta underwhelmed. The bull did not have the quality of the two openers, but still allowed Luque to perform another faena that might have been better served with a calmer structure. The standout moment of Luque’s performance was his long series of neat and smoothly linked luquesinas – the crowd initially met them with resistance but after a couple of linked passes it fully submitted to this toreo. I find it striking that Luque, a torero who performs so smoothly with the cape, needs to rely on arrimones and encimismo with the muleta. If he is to take the next step in his career Daniel’s toreo en redondo needs to improve towards the level of his cape work and accessorial close toreo.

The first half of this corrida had been a series of what ifs. What if the toreros had found the technical wherewithal to extract the maximum potential from the bulls? What if the bulls had that extra spice to their charges?  Ultimately, the only certainty was that we had been left with a series of “nearly” faenas.

Sadly, that was all we would have for the afternoon. The remaining three bulls were empty and did not allow for any performances of note. To make matters worse, Manzanares had been taken to the infirmary at the death of the second bull (José Mari would return for the sixth); he needed a drip to treat his dehydration, caused by a bout of gastroenteritis. No sniggering at the back please…

SEVILLA 20/04/2015 – Quinta Corrida

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

 
Torrestrella Bulls for Antonio Ferrera, Iván Fandiño and Pepe Moral.

When I was growing up the Torrestrella bulls were among the most desired by the top toreros, from today’s cartel one can see that is no longer the case. However, the terna that was contracted for this corrida are among more capable toreros of the second rung. Antonio Ferrera quickly moved on from the populist terna de banderillleros with which he shot to prominence and, despite his artistic limitations and technical inconsistencies, has forged a dignified career facing tough ganaderías. Iván Fandiño is on the cusp of figura status and needs a strong feria de Sevilla in order to recover from the disappointing impression caused during encerrona in Madrid. While Pepe Moral is making his second paseillo in the feria. His opening corrida showed that he is an undervalued chip in the current taurine market and he will be looking to build on the oreja he cut on Friday.

Despite the intriguing cartel, the plaza was only about half full. Understandable. The cartel was more appealing to the aficionado than the public at large, these names and their current place in the fiesta is a mystery to most. Aside from the odd corrida de figuras, the taurine season takes place in secret. It is one of the challenges facing the fiesta to help people who are interested in los toros engage with the entire season and not just the few corridas that may take place in their town. With such engagement, this type of cartel might attract a larger crowd.

Ferrera opened the afternoon with a series of discreet veronicas, none of which, individually, moved the crowd but, taken as a whole, he had used the series to manoeuvre the bull from the boards to the very centre of the ring. This was pleasing technical cape work concluded with an attractive revolera. Throughout the opening tercios the bull had a tendency to charge with its head at mid-height, a defect partly caused by its tall make-up. Ferrera performed a clean, simple but unexciting tercio de banderillas. The bull’s charge lacked emotion and while Ferrera was able to rely on his technique to perform passes but given the bull’s condition these could not be fashioned into a pleasing faena. Ferrera could have probably saved us the last few series and headed for the sword sooner.

The fourth bull was a jabonero sucio with which Ferrera gave us an attractive tecio de banderillas. Two conventional pairs, each of which was placed in front of the horns and preceded by a recorte. The tercio was concluded with a tight quiebro by the boards and was followed by another quiebro a cuerpo limpio. An excellent tercio that was sadly the prelude for a poor faena. The bull had no vigour and despite Antonio’s technical solvency, it was impossible to create emotion. Once again, Ferrera spent too long with the muleta, he should have cut his performance off sooner and saved us all a few minutes.  

Fandiño’s first bull, a striking jabonero, received two light pics. It displayed a bland nobility that was not entirely defined by the muleta third. Unfortunately, it only took Fandiño a couple of non-descript series en redondo for us notice that the bull would not develop positively. It had a complete unwillingness to charge and Iván soon opted to change swords. Despite the poor bull, we were able to enjoy an excellent volapié.

 

The fifth bull was the classic Torrestrella burraco bull. It had a powerful start of the muletazo, but it lacked the motor to finish with desire. It provided enough raw material that the faena always teetered on the brink of emotion, but it lacked the quality to go beyond this threshold. Fandiño’s afternoom was measured, Iván could not have extracted anything further from his lot.

Pepe Moral’s first bull came into the ring charging vibrantly and was met with a series of veronicas. These were low, well timed and controlled, concluding with a couple of medias and a revolera in the centre of the ring, giving us the first real ovation of the afternoon. Moral saw that the bull might offer a faena and dedicated his work to the crowd, staying in the centre of the ring to open his performance with passes cambiados. Nevertheless, the highlight of the opening series was a wonderfully slow closing chest pass. His slow and delicate toreo was the characteristic of his opening two series of derechazos – slow and well timed passes that got the music playing. The bull’s strength was waning and the next couple of series, while continuing to be silky smooth, were marked by excellent individual passes rather than the brilliance of the series as a whole. Despite the full estocada, he necessitated a descabello to complete the task, and what might have been an ear turned into a vuelta al ruedo. Truth be told, the emotional momentum of the faena declined towards the end, which did not help Pepe’s final result.

 

The closing bull of the afternoon continued the general theme of the afternoon, another animal with little power or emotion. It was slightly more mobile than its predecessors and therefore allowed for a longer faena. Pepe Moral once again showcased his emphatic concept of toreo, low, slow and dominant, but the individual passes were inconsistent. Nevertheless, it completed another solid showing for the young Sevillano who can look back on a couple of worthy and dignified performances. I certainly look forward to seeing him again.  

SEVILLA 18/04/2015 – Cuarta Corrida

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

Victoriano del Río Bulls for Enrique Ponce, José María Manzanares & Lama de Gongora (who is taking the alternativa).

The first star studded cartel of the feria and its first full house. The aficionado will go to watch any cartel in La Maestranza. As corny as it might sound, merely taking one's seat in the old plaza is moving. The public, however, are drawn to events, and in Sevilla, the main events are comprised by the figuras (I was tempted to write in la Fiesta, rather than “in Sevilla” but Iván Fandiño’s solo corrida in Madrid showed that crowds are drawn to the ring by legendary breeds).

There is nothing I can write about Ponce that has not been said before, to me, he is the most important torero of the last forty years, and perhaps more. Moreover, he still retains the ambition and ability of his peak and can give a masterful performance in keeping with the qualities of the bulls. Manzanares is currently Sevilla's favourite son. I know that he is from Alicante, but he is currently La Maestranza's preferred torero, Morante could of course take his spot, but he is missing in action. Besides, José Mari and his father have enjoyed a special relationship with the city making him, almost, a local lad. Lama de Góngora experienced a number of early triumphs in La Maestranza, both with and without pics. Although his career as a novillero has plateaued, the popularity garnered in his early days sufficed to allow him to earn his alternativa in Sevilla. 
The bulls for the afternoon were from the figura favourite Victoriano del Río ranch. My “figura favourite” remark should not be read as a sarcastic dig, the high number of brave, mobile and noble bulls Victoriano offers means that those with first dibs over ganaderías (i.e. the figuras) choose them.
However, Ponce's first bull did not live up to the ranch's proud record. A tall, class-less bull, it offered little indications that it would develop a vivacious charge in the muleta. Ponce tried to impose his will on the bull and even managed the odd low and dominant pass. However, the faena never developed beyond Ponce's dry technical effort trying to make a reticent bull charge.

His second bull was little better. We have seen Ponce work miracles with poor bulls in the past, but there was no such miracle on this occasion. Enrique was entirely in control throughout his performances this afternoon but the animals he faced offered no possibility of toreo, let alone a triumph.

José Mari was dressed in a sharp black and jet suit, a colour he will wear all season mourning his father’s recent passing. He welcomed his first bull into the arena with acceptable veronicas that were cheered as if they were great, it was not the ideal bull with which to torear a la veronica, but the crowd’s reaction was a reminder that Sevilla was here to support Manzanares. His first bull had a nervy but inconsistent charge, which in turn meant Manzanares’ toreo en redondo was forcibly inconsistent. Nevertheless, he stood up to the bull’s problems, some of which were caused by José Mari’s inexact positioning, and managed to conclude the faena with a couple of stirring series en redondo – each concluded with a decisive trincherazo as the bull would not accept any high passes. These series, allied with an excellent estocada, were enough to land him the first ear of the afternoon.

The highlight of the opening tercios to the fifth bull was a wonderful pair of banderillas placed by Curro Javier’s to close the tercio. The banderilleros were unable to fix the bull to their capes after the second pair of the tercio and the bull charged towards Curro, who was in the centre the ring preparing himself for the next pair. Rather than dodge the charge, Curro Javier used the bull’s powerful impetus to place a risky pair that brought the crowd to its feet – the salute he earned was thoroughly deserved. The bull continued to display this powerful charge in the muleta enabling Manzanares to compose an emotive faena. Although we are not used to Manzanares rising to this type of bull to impose his toreo, such surprise was welcome. However, we were also able to detect the typical failings in his toreo: namely short series en redondo, lack of toreo al natural and too great a distance between man and bull. Nevertheless, the control he had over the bull and the animal’s emotive charge gave the faena interest despite its inconsistency. The wonderful estocada with which he capped his work, executing the suerte contraria with the bull right up against the boards, ensured that he was awarded a legitimate ear. The generous crowd petitioned for a second, but this was rightly declined by the president.

Lama de Góngora took his first steps as a matador this afternoon, time will tell whether it is the beginning of a career or the beginning of the end of his adventure as a torero. His first faena was solid and managed to attract the crowd's attention. The animal charged with reticence and Lama was able to gain the appropriate steps between each pass to link acceptable series en redondo. Despite the personal aesthetic the underpinned his performance, the bull lacked an emotive charge and the faena felt incomplete. Nevertheless, the crowd was supportive and he might have cut a liberal ear had he been surer with the sword.

The final bull of the afternoon was vacant of any bravery and all Lama could do was show his desire to triumph before a bull with which was almost impossible. It is impossible to judge Lama on the strength of one afternoon. We can, however, point to Lama's personal aesthetic accent as a quality that sets him apart from the crowd. It takes more than a unique artistic edge in order to carve a career out in la fiesta, one also needs valour, technique and some luck - if Lama can find these he may have a future.

Despite Manzanares’ solid performance and triumph this had been an underwhelming corrida, an unfortunate reminder that no matter how attractive a cartel may look on paper, success is never guaranteed. Some may say that such unpredictability is part of the fiesta’s intrinsic attraction, after one disappointment too many I am left hoping for a more consistent spectacle.

SEVILLA 16/04/2015 – Segunda Corrida

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

 

Fuente Ymbro Bulls for Antonio Nazaré, Arturo Saldívar & Javier Jiménez.

 

Today’s cartel had a similar dynamic to Wednesday’s: two local lads and a Mexican. Antonio Nazaré is a good torero, he has an excellent concept of toreo and certainly deserves greater prominence in the taurine season. Arturo Saldívar is part of the young crop of Mexican toreros that are attempting to carve a career for themselves in Spain – although it would be welcome, and helpful to the fiesta, for a Mexican figura to emerge none of the latest group has been able to break through. I find that Saldívar is yet to define his personality as a torero and my first sighting of him this year, in Valdemorillo, left me unimpressed. Javier Jiménez is the older brother of the recently alternativado Borja; he has found a place in the feria on his local's ticket in the feria and needs a solid performance in order secure contracts for the coming season. The three toreros were facing the always intriguing Fuente Ymbro bulls, one of the few popular ranches whose problematic bulls suffer from an excess of nerve rather than the lack of it. However, we do not come to the plaza hoping for merely problematic bulls, rather ones that charge with vigour and desire. Thankfully, Fuente Ymbro has also been known to offer plenty of these too.

 

Nazaré began the faena to the first bull decisively; opting for toreo en redondo without any tester passes. The bull lacked certain vivacity, but Nazaré was firm, stayed still and used his timing to take the bull as long as possible. The series were clean, but the bull stayed short, which wrested certain emotion from the pass. There was little toreo al natural, as soon as the Nazaré took this hand, the bull cut in during the opening naturales and gave Antonio a chilling and serious looking voltereta. Thankfully, he was able to get back to his feet and concluded the faena with several clean series of derechazos. The bull’s charge was waning and while the toreo was pleasing and controlled it lacked emotion. Nazaré capped his work with a full estocada al volapié before heading to the infirmary to get himself checked over after the strong tossing.

 

The fourth bull had a wonderful classy charge allied with a piquant mobility that made it ideal for the muelta. Nazaré saw the bull’s virtues immediately and began with two excellent series of long, slow and low derechazos capped with sensational chest passes. Nazaré’s forte is the left hand, but the bull’s charge lacked a step on this side. Nevertheless, he was able to extract a couple of good naturales and once again concluded the series with a superlative chest pass. Antonio cleverly structure the faena with another couple of emotive series on the right side before taking on the left hand once again and this time extracting even better naturales. A full sword thrust gave way to a majority petition for an ear that was duly granted, I was surprised that there was not even a minor petition for the second, perhaps the trasero and tendido sword cooled the crowd too much. A worthy ear for a torero that deserves more contracts. 

 

Saldiviar’s first bull seemed problematic, but offered power in the tercio muleta. It had a nervy, mobile and repetitive charge and Saldivar began his faena with several series of derechazos. The bull’s nervy manner made it difficult to torear and Saldívar was unable to channel its mobility into good toreo. Arturo's faena was long with many passes, but none of these was in the slightest bit emotive. The animal's difficulty may not necessarily have allowed for relaxed toreo, but I was left with the impression that Saldívar had been outshone by his opponent. Besides, after so many dull bulls throughout the early ferias, it was welcome to see a bull with excessive casta, rather than a lack of it.  

 

Arturo met the fifth bull a porta gayola, and was almost run over by it, he opted for another larga cambaida in the tercio which was executed cleaner. The bull had a classy charge, but was hampered by certain weakness that gave its charge blandness. Saldívar again gave it many passes, but his lack of control over the bull and its general blandness meant that, once again, none of these conveyed the slightest emotion. Saldívar did not have a perfect couple of bulls by any means, but his performance had been underwhelming.  

 

The afternoon’s third bull had the mobility of its predecessors, but allied with greater class and desire giving its charge emotion and allowing for good toreo. Jiménez was able to control the charge and link his long derechazos cleanly over a number of emotive series. The faena perhaps lacked an edge of repose, but this is a minor quibble. The toreo on the left hand was not as clean, and Javier found emotion in opting for figure of eight toreo on this side. The bull’s initial vigour had, by now,  lessened and Jiménez continued with the ojedismo on the right side. An acceptable conclusion to the faena, but it was not as satisfying as the long, well timed toreo fundamental with which he began his work. Nevertheless, Javier might have been awarded an ear  had his estocada not been preceded by a pinchazo. It had been a pleasing faena, which might have shone brighter with an extra measure of repose and a better conceived structure.  

The final bull of the afternoon offered Javier another opportunity. The animal was noble and reached the muleta with certain vigour that allowed for isolated good toreo. However, Javier perhaps attack the bull too much in the opening sequence of the faena, which, consequently caused the bull to run out of gas too soon. 

The ultimate stars of the corrida had been the bulls, welcome news for those of us who value the Fuentes Ymbro ranch. It had given us a varied string of bulls that retained our interest throughout; from the problematic first and second bull, thorough the excellent third and fourth Bulls and concluding with a couple of noble, classy animals.  

 

SEVILLA 15/04/2015 – Primera Corrida

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

 

Cayetano Muñoz Bulls for Joselito Adame, Oliva Soto & Esaú Fernández.

 

Sevilla and spring, a magical combination that  means one thing to the aficionado: toros. Although today felt more like a gloomy autumnal afternoon, the rain and cloud could not entirely temper the gusanillo’s energetic wriggle. The cartel is arguably the feria’s weakest combination, but I always try to focus on the positive. I therefore remembered Joselito Adame’s promising early steps as a matador, Oliva’s excellent afternoon five years ago with a string of Conde de la Maza bulls in this very ring and the numerous ears Esaú has cut in Sevilla over previous years. I of course chose to ignore that the reason why they find themselves in this opening corrida is that, notwithstanding those, their careers have been marked by inconsistency. Would they be able to rekindle past triumphs this afternoon or would we be reminded why they occupy their middling to low status in the escalafón?

 

Adame’s first bull was mobile, but lacked the desire that would give its charge emotion. Adame tried to focus the bull and lower its head with some initial doblones which, although cleanly executed, were bland. As Adame began to torear en redondo the bull was already looking to rajarse. What followed was a pointless faena; there were a couple of series en redondo but, due to the bull’s condition, these lacked any interest or emotion. A disappointing start to the feria.

 

The fourth bull was a beautiful jabonero sucio that had the same classy charge as the third, but was blessed with more strength. Its good charge allowed Adame to cut a solid ear. Adame took a while to understand the bull’s rhythm and find the right height and distance at which to torear. The faena de muleta was therefore divided in two parts, an initial few series marked by inconsistency and enganchones before Adam managed to finally unlock the bull’s emotive charges to perform a couple of emotive series en redondo, one on each hand. He spiced his toreo fundamental with some pretty remates, the highlight of which was a cambio de mano to conclude a round of naturales. The music played, the estocada was full and even the descabello did not prevent the plaza from petitioning for an ear. It was a  prize to a professional and well worked faena.

 

Oliva Soto met his first bull with an acceptable string of veronicas, better on the left side than the right, they were cleanly executed and marked by Soto’s aesthetic edge. The bull lacked class and had a short charge, however, it was vivacious and carried the emotion a problematic bull offers. The end result was ultimately disappointing, the bull’s problems prevented a faena, but at least the crowd could experience that there was a wild beast on the sand that needed taming. 

 

The fifth bull was another tricky opponent, that nonetheless offered certain possibilities for toreo. In the opening series the animal displayed mobility and a desire to follow the lures, however, it required a dominant and decisive torero to dominate its charge. Unfortunately, one of Oliva Soto’s shortcomings is his lack of calm valour – he is brave enough to stand up to the bull, present the lure and risk life and limb. However, during the pass he lacks the conviction to stay entirely still and keep the lure close to the bull. This animal was tricky and would not forgive such errors, therefore, all it took was one slight shift of his feet and inexact placing of the muleta at the end of the first series for the bull of see him and toss him. From this stage on the bull was difficult, it had seen the torero and kept half an eye on him during the rest of the faena. Soto tried to torear en redondo with either hand, but was unable to find the calmness and dominance to do so. He also earned anoter tossing for his trouble. 

 

Esaú took it upon himself to inject some emotion to the afternoon and headed to the bull pen to begin the lidia a porta gayola – the bull had his own ideas and ignored him, opting instead to wander around the ring before heading to the centre to be greeted by a farol de rodillas. The bull reahed the muleta with a pleasing charge, without being exceptional it had the mobility and desire to allow Esaú to perform some low and linked series en redondo. However, just when it seemed as we might be able to enjoy emotive toreo the bull’s strength failed him. As soon as Esaú lowered his hand too much the bull would fall and the momentum of the faena would collapse, perhaps mid-height toreo would have helped him maintain the bull on its feet. As it was, the bull run out of gas before the faena was complete and Esaú’s only option was an arrimón that served to show his desire to please. 

The afternoon closed with a non-entity of a faena. The bull displayed an inconsistent charge and Esaú lacked the wherewithal to impose order to the charge. His desire to please and to create a spectacle is beyond doubt, however whether he is able to develop the technical ability to be able to do so on a regular basis is.

Before signing off, a quick word on the bulls. I was not familiar with the ranch, but it provided a respectable string. None of the animals will live in the memory, but most offered a level of spectacle and might have been better served by more experienced toreros. I hope we will see better strings during the course of the feria, but I am certain we will see worse. The cuadrillas were on good form today. Jarocho, Curro Robles and Alcalaren~o placed some excellent pairs of banderillas, the latter was at his rangy and dominant best.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

15/04/2015 – THE NEED FOR WARTIME TAURINOS

There is a telling scene in the Godfather when Michael Corleone takes Tom Hagen to one side to tell him that Hagen is not a wartime consigliere and that he should step aside to focus on the family’s legal business. It is a recognition that changing contexts require a change in tact; that the modus operandi that may serve you during calm times may not necessarily work in tougher conditions.

The fiesta faces a similar challenge. For a great deal of the twentieth century it was at the forefront of Spanish popular culture, good times were assured. However, over the last thirty years, there has been a paradigm shift. Los toros have fallen from the Spanish national consciousness and although, as is often trotted out, its appeal is only second to football, one gets the feeling that has been forced underground. Moreover, its mere existence is openly questioned in many quarters. To me that has been the anti’s principal victory of the last ten years, the man on the street, generally, does not care about the fiesta, neither positively nor negatively, however, the antis have wanted to create a debate around the fiesta’s future, and they have succeeded.  

As this debate has been forced upon us, the onus is now on the taurinos to defend ourselves. Therefore, the fiesta requires, if not a wartime consigliere, certainly a wartime mind set. The modus operandi that has held us in good stead previously is no longer valid, moreover, I am certain that the mundillo’s reticence to develop a new business model has accelerated our fall from grace.

To say that the taurino lacks the appetite for a fight would be wrong – we see arguments across the mundillo as a matter of course. Last week we discussed the running battle between toristas and toreristas, but as soon as I had posted the column a new front opened in the form of niñato-gate. Carlos Herrera, a well-known Spanish journalist called the G4 group of figuras out on twitter, referring to them as “niñatos” (little snots) for not appearing in Sevilla. Of course twitter erupted, as is its wont, with certain sectors decrying Herrera’s crass lack of respect and others wondering why the first group had their knickers in a twist.

This was of course a minor battle within the wider conflict between the Empresa Pagés and G4, a cynic might suggest Herrera was doing the empresas dirty work by shovelling some more dirt on the figuras. As we all know by now, at a time when the fiesta could do with a strong Feria de Abril to give the temporada some momentum and prestige, the impresarios and the figuras have been unable to settle their differences and left the aficionado with a hobbled feria. Without wanting to get into a blame game, which would owe much to speculation because I do not know all the facts for certain, this is precisely the type of scenario I refer to when I call for a wartime mindset. With the anti’s pitched at the gates of the Maestranza, the fiesta is engaged in a battle against itself.

Taurinos fight against each other in all corners of the fiesta: let us channel this energy and take aim at the antis. This is what I mean by shifting our mind set. Fortunately, there are signs that the ungainly taurine beast is stirring. The news broke this week that PACMA’s Seville protest against los toros would be allowed to march up to the Puerta del Príncipe. Once again the tweetendido stirred, this time in a more positive sense directing its ire at the authorities that had authorised such a route, especially in light of an ever increasing tendency to violent protest among the anti-taurine movement. Thankfully, the authorities reconsidered their position and are now preventing the antis from marching to the Maestranza. Whether this was down to the protests from taurinos (both through twitter and a more traditional lobby route among certain professional associations and peñas) or not, the truth is that the mundillo stirred and achieved its aim.

The stark reality is that we must get used to these types of action to stem the advance of the anti movement – the French have being the fiesta’s standard bearers in this respect. In France, despite the deep taurine tradition, the bulls have never enjoyed the place of cultural prominence that they have in Spain. Unlike the Spanis aficionado, who could rely on cultural momentum to take the fiest forward, the French taurine has been forced to defend and vindicate his fiesta at every stage in its development, and is therefore used to protecting his afición with belligerence. This wartime mentality needs to pervade the Spanish mundillo.

Of course, in order for the defence of the fiesta to develop accordingly, it should be a centralised and co-ordinated effort. Thus far the fiesta has relied on the individual and efforts of aficionados and certain professional entities acting independently, but a taurine lobby created by the professional taurine world is now necessary. This would be the only type of entity with the budget and the reach to face up to the uber-financed, hyper-organised anti-taurine effort. There are certain sectors of the mundillo that are working towards it, let us hope that they are successful because, and I do not think that this is an empty threat, the fiesta’s future depends on it. Grass roots aficionado efforts, either by individual aficionados or peñas are important, but it all needs to be backed up by a centralised effort. A wartime mentality would see that such an entity be created.

Aside from organising a concerted defence of the fiesta, I feel that some of the wartime mentality needs to be channelled positively into creating a better fiesta. Even this early in the season, a range of toreros have triumphed and a good number of different ganaderías and encastes have lidiado good bulls. However, the pervading feeling as ferias are announced is that the same names, with varying degrees of merit, repeatedly appear. It would take a whole column to analyse the current state of the escalafón and ganaderías in order to present and assess how a fresh approach can be achieved. But I will say that the cartels for Nimes, Zaragoza and Jerez, to name but three that have been presented in the past week, leave much to be desired and lack imagination. I have nothing against figuras appearing in ferias, it is the second class of matador that leaves me unfulfilled. They do nothing other than block the young group of toreros that promise to be tomorrow’s figuras. A wartime mentality would bring with it a fresh approach to cartel building, creating cartels that appeal to the aficionado while promoting a spectacle that is attractive to the casual fan.    

These three ideas, a belligerent mentality, a central lobby and an enticing fiesta are but three core ideas for the fiesta in its bid to move into the twenty-first century. They are not the only ideas that can be put forward and, as always, the devil is in the detail. However, the mundillo needs to realise that its current course may not be sufficient to quell and defeat the antis; we need a wartime taurino to take the initiative and develop the fiesta as it deserves.  

05/04/2015 – POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES FROM THE TAURINE EASTER

Winter is well behind us, spring is here, and, happily so is the taurine season. We have enjoyed the February and March aperitifs such as Valencia, Olivenza and Valdemorillo, but the season starts in spring, and more specifically, over Easter Week.

There have been a great deal of corridas over the past week with strong attendances. More corridas is a sign that the significant decrease caused by the economic crisis shows some signs of levelling off and turning into an upward curve (some reduction was necessary after the mid noughties peak, but the eventual drop off was disastrous), while their positive attendance shows that, despite the increased belligerence of the anti-taurine movement, people continue to enjoy going to los toros when an interesting spectacle is presented to them.

Therefore, on opposite sides of the taurine spectrum, there was a sell out in Madrid last week for Fandiño’s solo corrida with the encastes minoritarios and yesterday la Malagueta was full for a corrida with the figuras and Domecqs. Of course, we now know that each corrida did not produce the entirely desired result, but the importance was the expectation that la fiesta had created in each plaza and among the crowd that attended. Besides, Las Ventas was able to enjoy the emotive lidia of a José Escolar bull, and Perera performed a faenón in Málaga showing that he might, once again, be the torero to beat in 2015.   

It would be wrong to reduce the entire week’s proceedings to these two corridas, thankfully, throughout taurine Europe there have been worthwhile and varied spectacles all week. Hellín was the scene of an important Prieto de la Cal corrida, where Javier Castaño showed his worth as a lidiador, and the Veraguas gave a varied performance capped with the vuelta al ruedo to the sixth bull. While Benidorm and Cabra were the sets for a more populist, but no less worthy, fiesta where El Fandi Castella, Padilla, Finito and Abellán each showcased their wares at well attended plazas.

The principal feria of the week, in Arles, also provided further evidence, that toreo is alive in this first week of April. It was a varied feria, the crowd was able to enjoy the good performance of a string of Rehuelga bulls, one of which received a vuelta al ruedo, that provided Lillian Ferrani with the  material to cut a couple of ears yesterday morning and José Maria Manzanares cut a tail in the evening to a Garcigrande that was also awarded a vuelta.

In short, there was plenty of action to keep us interested throughout Holy Week. However, today was Easter Sunday, a day that has a special ring to the aficionado. The curtain raiser in Sevilla signifies the birth of a new season. Once again, as has been the theme for the week, there was a healthy programme of corridas to follow away from Sevilla: from Madrid to Arles, and from Aignan to Zamora, each of which was well attended.

I followed this afternoon on the radio and social media, not ideal, I would rather be in a plaza, but, even via the radio the sound of La Maestranza was enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand. Would the corridas live up to the expectation? Happily, they did. Of course, as aficionados, every time we see a cartel we imagine each of the toreros exiting on shoulders. In practice that does not happen, therefore, we are, for the most part, satisfied when we have a bunch of good performances to enjoy.

This afternoon, we were able to turn back the clock to the late eighties with Espartaco’s triumph in Sevilla. Eugenio de Mora reminded us why we had such high hopes for him at the turn of the century. While Victor Barrio and Borja Jímenez, who each impressed us in Valdemorillo, brought us back to 2015 and showed the impresarios that there are a significant group of young toreros that are ready to supplant the host of second class toreros that still get contracts and muddy our ferias.     

Why this brief run through the significant positives of the past week? As some of you will no doubt have picked up, the bipartisan aspect of toreo has once again reared its head. This week the battle has been between those who prefer seeing a spectacle with minority encastes and those who “support” the feria of Domecqs and the figuras. Interested parties on either side have been attacking the other through their websites and on the 21^st century battlefield that is twitter. The focus of each side has been Las Ventas and Málaga respectively. Certain editorials and twitter messages have used Fandiño’s disappointment as “proof” that this type of fiesta does not work and the way forward is Domecq, while others have pointed to Málaga as the embodiment of everything that is wrong with the fiesta.

Both of these arguments is misguided and ignores that there is space in the fiesta for all type of corridas, and that all type of corrida are also prone to failure. As this week has shown. Moreover, there is something bigger at stake for the fiesta. Although the aficionado may be preoccupied with supporting this or that type of fiesta, we should all join forces because the anti-taurino does not discriminate between both spectacles. They would like to destroy them all.

It is fun, and necessary, to debate the direction that the fiesta is taking. Which ganaderías are performing well and which toreros are on the rise? However, such debate among aficionados should all take place from the standpoint of mutual respect among us. Supporting one type of corrida over another will only lead us to get bogged down in a civil war when the invading forces are on our doorstep.

We should reserve our belligerence for those sections of the mundillo that ignore the structural issues that the fiesta suffers and leaves it as the current organised chaos. We should also keep some in reserve for the potential invading army of anti-taurinos that have now surrounded our plazas in order to hurl insults and stone to the aficionados. And, why not keep some in reserve for the authorities that seemingly treat the aficionado as a second class citizen and expose us to the anti-taurino’s ire? (In this last respect Spain should look north to France and the attitude they have taken towards the anti. In the meantime, the aficionado in Spain is left exposed by a poorly organised mundillo and they need to organise their own petitions to try and stem the anti’s advance).

Arguing amongst ourselves in such a destructive way misses the wood for the trees, therefore let us focus on the positives of this week: of toreo’s rebirth for another season, of the bulls sent by of Prieto de la Cal, Rehuelga and Garcigrande, of the triumphs of Espartaco, Manzanares and Castaño and, above all, that there are still a significant amount of people in 2015 that are willing to go to the plaza, wtch corridas on TV, listen to taurine radio and read taurine output on the web. Moreover, we have even had a minor triumph on the front line against the anti-taurinos – a full plaza in Padrón (La Coruña, Galicia) can only be hopeful news.

FALLAS 21/03/2015 – SEGUNDA NOVILLADA

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

 

El Parralejo novillos for Jorge Expósito, Ginés Marín and Varea.

 

On paper this was the more attractive novillada of the pair that had been announced for La Fallas. The El Parralejo ganadería has been carving out a strong reputation for quality novillos from its Fuente Ymbro and Jandilla seed, while Ginés Marín and Varea are two of the leading novillero prospects. Marín rose to prominence following a strong showing on his debut with pics in Olivenza last year, which immediately marked him as one of the novlleros to consider – he has continued his upward trajectory and this second season should serve him to build momentum towards the alternativa. I have good references about Varea, but my first chance to see him this year, in Olivenza, was curtailed by a string of weak Talavante novillos. Jorge Expósito was the unknown for me of this novillada. As always, I was relishing the opportunity to asses a new torero.   

 

The opening novillo had a dreamy, profound charge, which Expósito exploited with a good opening series with the left hand, in the centre of the ring, without previously executing any test passes. The novillo was somewhat tardy, but when presented with the lure he would charge long with his head held low, Expósito was able to link the passes by keeping the muleta in its face between each pass. Expósito continued with this tactic for a series of derechazos, but the animal’s vigour was waning. Although he remained in control he was unable to preserve the intensity of the faena once the novillo began to fade. He tried, with some passes por alto with both knees on the ground, but the emotion of the faena had long since dissipated. To Expósito’s credit, his volapié was well executed, if a touch trasero.

 

Expósito’s second novillo was also extremely classy, with a long noble charge that perhaps lacked an edge of emotion. Jorge was able to channel this charge into numerous slow, low series of derechazos that were technically correct, but came across a fraction cold. I cannot find an objective fault with his toreo – conceptually it was pleasing, long and slow, technically, it was well timed and throughout Expósito was in control of the novillo, but I did not find it moving. He concluded with a populist series of circulares on his knees and the consequential desplante. Had the sword thrust be surer he might have earned a merited ear, but the two pinchazos and the media estocada left the award in an ovation.  All told it was a very professional outing by Expósito, he certainly has the foundation of a solid technique, which will only help as he seeks to develop his pleasing concept of toreo. However, he must learn to give his toreo greater emotional intensity in order to take the net step.  

 

Ginés Marín once again impressed us with his low and controlled veronicas to welcome the second novillo into the ring. Aside from their technical merit, Marín always strikes me as being relaxed and reposed in front of the novillo, which in turn leads to controlled toreo. He also attempted a quite by veronicas, but the novillo was too distracted to allow for it. Varea intervened with a quite of four emotive and tightly worked chicuelinas – a very attractive opening gambit from Varea. The animal continued to be distracted into the tercio de muleta and had the added difficulty of an ungainly charge. Marín was able to perform two technically correct and controlled series on the right, before moving to the left and extracting a highly emotive series wherein he teased each charge form the animal with his carefully placed lures. The novillo, however, did not have an emotive charge, it would leave each pass with its head in the clouds and was focussed on everything but the muleta. Even so, Marín was technically correct with the novillo and extracted some very worthy isolated passes. He animated the crowd with some closing bernadinas and might have cut an ear had he not needed a descabello to finish the work that his untidy sword thrust could not.

 

The fifth novillo had a noble, but inconsistent charge but was not blessed with excessive strength. Ginés Marín started his faena toreando en redondo in the centre of the ring, on his knees, capturing the crowd’s attention immediately. The toreo was reposed, but not as clean as it might have been given that the novillo lost its footing on occasion. Marín built a faena en redondo with either hand that was marked by its delicate nature – the novillo could not sustain powerful low toreo, and on the occasions that Marín sought this, his opponent went to ground. Slowly making the novillo charge with greater depth, Marín’s faena was technically meritorious and aesthetically pleasing – he may not have the most elegant or artistic concept, but his toreo is pure, executed close to the animal and sprinkled with sparkling creative remates.  Ginés was awarded a deserved ear for his afternoon’s work, but above all, the principal take from the afternoon was that here is a torero with great potential who should be one of the pillars of the season in the junior escalafón. 

 

Varea’s recibo capotero to the third novillo was emphatic, a series of capotazos hat were the presentation of a novillero determined to impose his will on proceedings. The novillo had a willing charge that verged towards weakness. It needed a well-timed muleta, to caress it through the pass slowly and with no brusque toques. With this technical mindset he was able to extract the odd extraordinary pass from a novillo which, because of its weakness, could not offer him anything more.   

 

The faena to the sixth novillo began with a rhythmic succession of passes naturales and cambiados to take the novillo from the boards to the centre of the ring. The animal had mobility and a long charge, with the tendency to chop at the end of the pass. It took Varea a couple of series to get the measure of the novillo, and once he did, the series that followed were sublime – well timed, slow, long and linked passes with either hand. The novillo was mesmerised following the lure, with its nerve and tendency to chop transformed into nobility and class. Varea’s toreo does not lack elegance, but the aesthetic value of this faena was fashioned through his control of the novillo through successive series en redondo, while thehe odd cambio de mano, farol and remate gave the faena some attractive variety. Varea concluded his work with some circular doblones, further testament to his control over the animal. A full estocada allowed Varea to cut two ears and exit on shoulders, a thoroughly deserved prize. I always try to judge a torero’s form and potential by the quality of toreo en redondo, the fundamental ingredient if one is to perform consistently good faenas. Therefore, by this yardstick, and on today’s showing, Varea is an excellent prospect indeed.  

FALLAS 20/03/2015 – PRIMERA NOVILLADA

 

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

 

López Gibaja novillos for Francisco José Espada, Cristian Climent and Leo Valadez.

 

An intriguing cartel which signalled the beginning of the end to the taurine Fallas. It would be interesting to assess Espada, a torero that had previously excited us with a good performance last San Isidro, following his disconcerting performance in Olivenza. Would we be able to see the development that is required in a leading novillero? Climent is a local lad, who gave an honest performance last Fallas, but was unable to parlay this into more than three contracts throughout the season – as always with novilleros (an indeed all young toreros) I will be looking to analyse his current state and his potential to develop. Leo Valadez is a Mexican novillero, from Aguascalientes, who was making his debut with pics of whom I had little prior knowledge. 

 

It was disheartening that, with such a potentially intriguing cartel, the plaza was almost empty. On one hand it is understandable. After seven straight days of bulls, a certain weariness might creep in for the general public, especially if they consider novilladas to be lesser spectacles, below the level of a corrida de toros (for the record, I find novilladas to be very interesting spectacles, the novillos offer more consistency than the four year old and there is a good group of novilleros that are able to serve a quality spectacle; of course, it is for the mundillo to get this message out to the casual aficionado and create sufficient expectation for them to attend novilladas). Moreover, the weather looked horrible and the town was no longer in fiesta. Nevertheless, it is incumbent on the bullring impresario to organise his events to ensure the highest attendance possible at each one, perhaps a revised strategy is needed.

 

The first novillo of the afternoon suffered a voltereta early in its lidia which greatly reduced its strength and impetus. It was a novillo that required a firm hand in order to guide it through the pass, otherwise it was easily distracted. Although Espada seemingly had the ability to do so, and managed it on several occasions, his attempt at a faena was thwarted by the wind. Nevertheless he reminded us that he is a solid technician, although he carries out his work with certain coldness and needs to learn to communicate, through his toreo, with the crowd.

 

Espada’s second faena was on a similar level, although somewhat more emotive. Francisco José suffered a serious looking voltereta during the saludo capotero, which, thankfully, did not prevent him from continuing the lidia. The novillo had a profound charge, but did not readily repeat its charges. Espada was decisive, firm and able to extract a number of linked passes, which he eventually, as the faena developed, moulded into complete series. Another solid technical display from Espada who seems ready for the alternative. He has the technique to cope with the four year old, whether he can use this to create emotive and moving toreo will hold the key as to whether he can build a career for himself. Predictions are a mugs game, but I will say that it is tough for a novillero after the alternative and better young prospects than Espada are struggling to find a niche in the senior escalafón.

 

Climent performed a daring, but clumsy quite by gaoneras to the first bull. I will not question Climent’s valour in citing the bull for gaoneras from the centre of the ring in the middle of a howling gale, but the gaoneras were marked by excessive movement and therefore not altogether satisfactory. Climent undertook to place banderillas to his first novillo with mixed results. The highlight was the closing pair al remolino, not so much for the remolino (which stopped well before reaching the bull) but for the tight placement. He opened the faena on his knees in the centre of the ring and managed an exciting series with the right hand – the bull was mobile and vivacious. However, Climent was not able to channel these charges into emotive series en redondo once on his feet. The opening couple of exchanges were marked by the excessive distance between Climent and the novillo. Once the animal slowed and became more reticent, Climent was unable to gain the necessary steps between each pass in order to ensure the bull repeated its charges. A swift sword thrust allowed Cristian to cut an ear for a faena that barely merited such prize.

The fifth novillo was a tough opponent, liable to cut in on every pass and head to the man rather than the lures. It required a strong hand and a decisive matador. Unfortunately, Climent was unable to deal with the animal and its difficulties. Partly down the wind and partly down to his own shortcomings, he did not handle the lures with the firmness and confidence necessary to dominate the novillo. Climent is daring and aims to please, but he needs to develop technically in order to perform the controlled and reposed toreo he needs in order to further his career.

 

Leo Valadez welcomed his first novillo into the ring with pleasing tijerillas. Despite being his debut, he was assured in the lidia and also performed a cleanly executed, orthodox tercio de banderillas. His assured manner continued during the faena de muleta. The novillo was bland and the faena could not be brilliant, but Valadez showed his solid technical foundation and the ease with which he can manage novillos. There were the logical faults in someone of his experience, but it was an altogether positive calling card. Unfortunately, his performance with the sword was not at the level of his handling of the lures and he necessitated a number of thrusts and descabellos to conclude his work.   

 

By the time the sixth novillo hit the sand the afternoon had descended below mediocrity, the few enjoyable moments of the first half of the novillada were diluted by general malaise that overcame proceedings. Despite my earlier laments at the small attendance, those that stayed at home might have had a more pleasant afternoon (not to mention cheaper and warmer!). Valadez brightened the dark clouds of the afternoon with an attractive quite by zapopinas, his hands were held lower than is usual in such quite and he composed his figure almost like a manzanares-esque chicuelina – a very personal touch to a quite that can often seem untidy. He placed banderillas with mixed fortune, although in Leo’s defence the novillo was not ideal for banderillas as it was reticent to charge and pressed towards the boards. In light of this, the chances of a positive faena seemed slim. Nevertheless, after some tester passes, Valadez was able to settle and perform some very notable toreo with the left hand. The bull was vibrant, with a note of difficulty, but Valadez was able to control its charges with his left an extracted a couple of low and reposed series. A series with the right hand followed suit, with the added virtue of Valadez being able to sustain a bull that wanted to head for the boards. Valadez relaxed, passed the bull close to him, stayed still and extracted some very long passes. He killed effectively and cut a well-earned ear. A very solid debut for Valadez, although, for the crowd, it perhaps did not make up for the two previous lacklustre hours.