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.
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