Zalduendo Bulls
for Paquirri, Morante de la Puebla & Alejandro Talavante.
I still find it disconcerting to refer to
Francisco River Ordoñez as Paquirri
or just Francisco Rivera; both these names evoke the image of his brave father
rather than Fran. Never mind, this minor taurine reflection has little bearing
on the progress of the afternoon. The greater pre-corrida concerns are the
recent inconsistent behaviour of the Zalduendo bulls and the strong wind
blowing in Valencia this afternoon.
The opening two bulls of the afternoon did not
allay any fears we might have had over the bulls. They both lacked class and
bravery and prevented either Paquirri or
Morante from constructing a
meaningful faena.
Paquirri’s bull was slightly more mobile and allowed for some series en redondo that were enough to showcase the solid technical base of his toreo, but were too superficial to be truly moving. The crowd was supportive and cheered Paquirri’s attempts at toreo en redondo, even those such attempts were unable to lead to a complete faena.
Morante did not like his bull in the slightest. It
had an ungainly charge and, as is usual in such circumstances, Morante did not waste the crowd’s time
and took the sword after a few test passes. The crowd, of course, did not take
the same view and soundly jeered Morante.
The afternoon’s third bull made for a welcome
change in behaviour and, with it, Talvante was able to perform the faena of the
afternoon, and one of the best of the feria. The strong wind, ever presente
throughout the afternoon, did not deter Talavante from taking the bull to the
centre of the ring, where its charge would be highlighted. He timed the bull
and the wind to create a delicately beautiful and varied faena. This was
Talavante at his best, the toreo en redondo flowed, livened with intriguing remates
that Alejandro dreamed up as the faena developed. The bull’s animated but noble
charge contributed to the triumph, but, notwithstanding its quality, Alejandro
must be praised for timing its charge in the middle of the wild gale. A full
sword thrust, executed slowly, gave way to a petition for two ears. The
president only granted one, but, for me, the faena was worth two. It had been
the equal to Castella’s faena on Sunday, and a level above the host of faenas
in the feria which had earned an ear.
Paquirri started his second faena sat on the boards and
gave an initial test pass that the crowd applauded. The bull was noble,
relatively mobile, but lacked the focus and vigour to convey emotion. Paquirri was able, once again, to show
that he has learned his craft well enough to remain in control of the bull and
perform acceptable toreo en redondo. However, such toreo lacked depth and Paquirri could have passed the bull
closer to his body. He did get close to the bull with some concluding natural
and cambiado passes which ended with him holding the bull’s horns. It was a
disconcerting afternoon from Paquirri,
he was entirely in control of both bulls and the scene throughout his
performance, but nothing about his toreo filled me with any expectation to want
to watch him again. He will of course get his contract as opening act for the
figuras who will rely on his ability to attract a certain sector of public to
cover up any of their deficiencies at the box office. But other than that, I
cannot see what he will contribute to the 2015 taurine season.
Morante’s second bull was noble, but lacked vigour. A
common, yet unwelcome, combination that, nevertheless, allowed Morante to sculpt some outstandingly
beautiful derechazos. The faena lacked continuity, and cannot be considered a
complete performance, but the isolated pass made it a worthwhile enterprise. I
am not going to fall into the old cliché that a single pass or capotazo from so
and so is worth the price of the entrance ticket. That is plainly untrue, if
all we see is one pass during the course of an afternoon, even if it were from Lagartijo himself, we would not leave
the ring considering we had our monies’ worth, especially with the price of
tickets today.
Talavante emerged for the sixth bull desperate
to secure the single oreja that would secure the exit on shoulders. But, as
always, the best laid plans of mice and men are laid to waste by bulls, and his
Zalduendo opponent lacked the bravura to allow for a positive faena. Talavante
tried to extract emotion from the bull during a long performance with the
muleta, but it was not to be. It was a pity that the unfair prize give for his
first faena prevented him from savouring his deserved exit on shoulders.
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