The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I
have watched on TV.
Las Ramblas Bulls for David Galván, Victor Barrio
and Alberto López Simón
This cartel was perhaps my dark horse for San
Isidro. San Isidro’s Sunday cartels are generally the weakest of the week (if
one was being cynical, one might suggest that the empresa knows that some
people can only attend at the weekend and therefore “forces” them to attend the
flimsiest bills), this is a thoroughly intriguing cartel. It may
be because of my afición, but I would much rather see three young, determined
toreros over a trio of veterans who may have built a career,
but have little left to say in toreo.
David Galván was active with the capote
throughout the early tercios of the first bull. He started with pleasing low
veronicas, the highlight of which was the media, and continued with a slow
quite by gaoneras. The bull displayed excellent class and this was used by
Victor Barrio in another quite de frente por detras. The worry at this stage was
whether the animal would have the vigour to withstand the lidia. Galván opened
the faena with a pedresina, an attractive start, but the bull lacked the motor
to make it truly emotive. The faena was superficially attractive, but lacked
the depth created by a bull with an emotive charge. David's toreo en
redondo was clean with either hand with isolated passes of a high
quality. However, the bull was not repetitive and it is hard to create emotion in a faena without linking passes. Galván concluded with some tight manoletinas, which cost him a
voltereta and a good full estocada. A solid, if unspectacular, performance.
David’s second bull was a tough opponent – it was
nervy, difficult and ultimately manso. The young torero was unable to dominate the bull
and, although he spent a long time with it (the first aviso sounded before he
entered for the first estocada) he was unable to extract anything of note. The faena
was too long, the bull was unlikely to yield the quality charges needed for a
faena but David persisted. The animal finished completely rajado and difficult
to enter for an estocada. Galván lost control of proceedings at this stage,
feeling that the avisos were forthcoming, he opted for a descabello after a few
pinchazos. Thankfully, he was able to finish his work in time. David Galván is
a promising young torero, but he needs a signature performance soon if he is to
build on this promise and become a torero that we can count on for the ferias.
Given the number of second tier toreros that have performed well this San
Isidro, one cannot help but feel that David has fallen a couple of steps down
the escalafón’s pecking order.
This feria might be known as the San Isidro of the
porta gayolas – every afternoon it seems that one or more of the toreros heads
to the puerta de chiqueros. Victor Barrio was this afternoon’s torero, although,
uniquely, he greeted the bull with a veronica a pies juntos in the centre of
the ring. The lance on his knees would
need to wait until the horses were in the ring; in another original nod, Victor
Barrio began his quite with a farol on his knees and a series of chicuelinas.
Toreo should be spontaneity, and this fresh quite made me smile. Barrio took to
his knees again to start his faena de muleta in the centre of the ring. The
bull was noble and repetitive, but Barrio was unable to domineer its charge
correctly to create emotive toreo. There were too many enganchones and rough
passes. As the faena developed we never had the sense that he was building
towards a crescendo. He gave passes, completed series, but his work lacked a
message. It is a pity. I had enjoyed his bright cape work and have previously
seen him perform good, powerful toreo en redondo – today, unfortunately, the
bull had got away from him.
Victor Barrio’s performance with the fifth bull
followed a similar script. He was active with the capote, I particularly
enjoyed his galleo by rogerinas, a pass that we do not often see, but that adds
variety to the first tercio. Victor began the faena with passes cambiados in
the centre of the ring, passing the bull exceedingly close (which is fundamental
to convey emotion with this pass). He gave the bull space to charge in his
first tanda de derechazos but the bull charge was too short to allow Barrio to
complete a series. The short charge, and the bull’s lack of stamina negatively
marked the faena. Victor tried to fashion a faena, but he was unable to
overcome the bull’s problems. It was not the afternoon I would have hoped for
Victor Barrio, but he showed enough creativity and desire for me to continue to
believe that he is a torero to be counted upon. He is a torero whose account is
very much still in the black.
The third bull had an edge of mansedumbre, but
would follow the muleta with class. López Simón began with a series of low passes
naturales and cambiados that served to focus the bull and ignite the crowd. The
animal’s charge also had an edge of nerve, which Alberto was able to channel into
two well linked and emotive series of derechazos; the highlight of which were a
couple of curvy chest passes. The bull lacked the stamina to allow for a long
and profound faena, however López Simón managed to perform clean toreo en
redondo with either hand. The key to the faena was linking, he was able to
build upon the emotion of a single pass with the following thereby constructing a stirring performance. He finished on a high note with some ayudados
por alto. A full estocada, during which he suffered a pitonazo to his abdomen,
allowed him to cut an ear. This was Alberto’s third bull this spring in Las
Ventas and his third ear.
López Simón completed his triumphant afternoon by
extracting a faena from an almost immobile sixth bull. Alberto started his
faena in a similar emphatic style to the first, low passes naturales and
cambiados, controlling the bull to the centre of the ring to begin with toreo
fundamental. While we often see faenas started with stoic high estatuarios,
what really moves the crowd is toreo por bajo – the estatuarios may have an
edge of excitement, but truly profound toreo is worked down low. The bull was
reticent to charge and, when it did so, followed the lure with little class or
desire. López Simón therefore based his faena on a firm, decisive attitude to
extract what he could from the animal, and working close to its horns. While he
did manage the odd well linked series, most of the faena carried the emotion of
the arrimón. He concluded the performance with tight manoletinas, which were
concluded with another low pass. The crowd was thoroughly taken with Alberto
and the pinchazo that preceded the full, well-executed and effective estocada proved
no obstacle to the president granting the ear. López Simón has completed
his spring performances in Madrid with four ears, and more importantly, by showcasing a decisive, attractive toreo; a pity that these triumphs do not
seem to count for much in today’s mundillo.
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