The view from the sofa,
my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.
Daniel Ruiz bulls for David Mora & Jiménez Fórtes mano a mano
This mano a mano was designed as the crux of Vistalegre’s
mini-feria. Two toreros that had overcome serious, life threatening, cornadas
in order to reappear today in Vistalegre. David Mora was the first torero to go
down during the infamous San Isidro 2014 corrida of two bulls and three
gorings. Over and above the initial seriousness of the goring, nerve damage in
his leg has led to a twenty month rehab programme. The torero has been saved,
now we are left to wait and see whether he can return to be the classical and
brave torero that had risen to share cartels with the figuras. Jiménez Fórtes,
who shared the bill with David Mora that San Isidro afternoon, suffered a bad
goring in his neck last August in Vitigudino. His road to recovery has been
shorter, but it remains to be seen whether his renowned valour has survived;
Fórtes has suffered many serious gorings over his short career, you would think
that in time, something must give.
David Mora’s opening gambit could not have
been better, the bull charged sweetly as David met him with parsimonious
veronicas, capped with a delicate chicuelina and a bright revolera. The
question I had was, if the toro is so sweet and noble before the lidia barely
begun, what is going to be left of its charge after the pics and banderillas?
The pic was light, but badly placed. It was followed by another excellent
string of veronicas. This was only the early exchanges, but the ease and grace
with which David handled the cape gave us hope for this afternoon. The bull was
noble, with adequate mobility, but weak. It needed gentle treatment, with the
lures at mid-height, or it would go to the sand. After a gentle beginning by
estatuarios, a torero must be sure of himself to being with this pass involving
non-existent toques, he took the bull to the centre of the ring. The opening
series of the faena were necessarily superficial – you could not attack the
bull or it would have given up the ghost. However, as the faena progressed,
Mora could lower the hand and extract passes of ever increasing emotional
intensity. There was the odd natural and a couple of derechazos that were
eternally long. However, what stood out was the overwhelming depth of each
pass, be it an isolated natural or linked derechazos. This type of classy,
noble bull conveys little emotion in its charge. It is therefore incumbent on
the torero to create emotion with his toreo. Mora was able to do this and his complete
sword allowed him to cut two ears. The torero had been excellent, but I was
left hoping that the remaining bulls would convey slightly more piquancy in
their charges.
Mora was very good once again with the capote
to the third bull. The chicuelinas during the quite were particularly
beautiful, capped with the deep media. Ángel Otero and José María Tejero placed
three good pairs of banderillas during the second tercio, Iván García conducted
the lidia well with the cape, showcasing the bull’s sprightly charge. Although
the faena lacked the aesthetic beauty of Mora’s first, I thought it showed the
torero in a better light. The bull was difficult, it needed a low hand to
dominate its mobility, while linking passes was difficult because of a tendency
to stay short. Nonetheless, Mora adapted his timing and the height of the lures
perfectly to the bulls’ charge and managed to impose a number of good series
with the right hand. It was the same delicate toreo from his first faena, but
given to an animal with greater emotion in its charge. As the performance progressed,
the animal’s problems accentuated and Mora began to gain a step between each
pass to preserve the ligazón. However, David extended the fanea too long, and it
dissipated in a sea of isolated passes. This might explain the lack of
enthusiasm in the petition following another full sword.
Mora’s third bull was the best of his lot, and
the ensuing faena, the most intense of his afternoon. The bull was classy and
brave, showing this condition with the best pic of the corrida. Mora invited he
sobresaliente, Chapurra, to perform a
quite by veronicas that was electric, exciting and met with approval by the
crowd. David’s quite by veronicas was better, very long and concluded with a
wonderful media veronica. He started the faena with some wonderful passes por
bajo, low emphatic and elegant doblones that served to focus the bull’s brave
charge. It was a pleasure to see a bull that rose to the challenge of emphatic
and demanding toreo. The bull’s mobile bravery called for great toreo en
redondo. Tthankfully David Mora was up to the task, meeting it with impeccable timing, in order to
guide the bull through the pass, and the sure valour to stay still and link
toreo en redondo. Mora’s fundamental was excellent, perfectly linked and accompanied
with aesthetic quality – we either had the beauty of long low passes, or, when
the time was right, Mora would adopt a vertical pose and give a parsimonious
muletazo. Unfortunately, Mora spent too long in front of the bull, trying to
extract a couple of final series that were simply not there – the bull’s
quality charges had already been exhausted. This excess cost David a serious
looking tossing that, thankfully, did not produce a goring. He composed himself
and concluded with three emotive manoletinas. There is little doubt that the
torero would have cut two ears but for poor sword work (perhaps another effect
of over extending the faena).
Fórtes’ first bull was returned to the pens
because of a leg injury. The opening tercios of the replacement were rather
lacklustre, the highlight of which was a tight quite by chicuelinas and a pic
during the bull pushed with some vigour (it was by no means a great vara, but
above the usual lacklustre efforts). Fórtes constructed a faena by numbers
which was well conceived, though it will quickly fade from memory. The bull was
less classy than the afternoon’s opener, possessing slightly more vigour. Fórtes’
toreo en redondo was well timed and acceptable, and he concluded the faena with
the typical arrimón. He might have cut an easy ear had the sword run true.
The fourth bull gave an untidy performance in
the first couple of tercios. It did not convincingly charge at the lures, at
the horse it pushed, but only with one horn and with little style. By the
muleta, its charge was distracted. The animal might lower its head at the
lures, or it might focus on the man, the crowd or anything else. Fórtes tried
to impose his iming on the bull in order to extract toreo en redondo, but try
as he might, there was little toreo to be had. The concluding manoletinas were
tight and exciting, which might have been the chief reason for the light
petition for an ear which was not granted.
Fórtes instructed his picador to only give the
sixth bull a light pic, before giving a tight quite by gaoneras. He began with
a cartucho de pescao in the centre of the ring. This was to be the highlight of
the early faena. The bull lacked the vigour or desire to follow the lures, and
Fórtes was unable to perform toreo en redondo. He did, however, soon work his
way into an arrimón quite early and with circulares and the like. Fórtes is
comfortable in the distancia corta, and the crowd appreciated his commitment to
create spectacle with such flawed raw material. Poor sword work probably cost
him an ear.
The corrida was marked positively by David
Mora’s excellent performance. Few people could have predicted the sheer quality
of his toreo and his wherewithal to impose it on three different types of bull.
Today’s afternoon holds him in good stead for his spring corridas, I for one
will be anticipating these with renewed enthusiasm. Fórtes had a poor lot, but
left the ring with his dignity intact. Jiménez Fórtes might never be the
tidiest torero, but his valour cannot be doubted, and that is always an
admirable trait.
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