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.
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