FALLAS 20/03/2015 – PRIMERA NOVILLADA

 

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

 

López Gibaja novillos for Francisco José Espada, Cristian Climent and Leo Valadez.

 

An intriguing cartel which signalled the beginning of the end to the taurine Fallas. It would be interesting to assess Espada, a torero that had previously excited us with a good performance last San Isidro, following his disconcerting performance in Olivenza. Would we be able to see the development that is required in a leading novillero? Climent is a local lad, who gave an honest performance last Fallas, but was unable to parlay this into more than three contracts throughout the season – as always with novilleros (an indeed all young toreros) I will be looking to analyse his current state and his potential to develop. Leo Valadez is a Mexican novillero, from Aguascalientes, who was making his debut with pics of whom I had little prior knowledge. 

 

It was disheartening that, with such a potentially intriguing cartel, the plaza was almost empty. On one hand it is understandable. After seven straight days of bulls, a certain weariness might creep in for the general public, especially if they consider novilladas to be lesser spectacles, below the level of a corrida de toros (for the record, I find novilladas to be very interesting spectacles, the novillos offer more consistency than the four year old and there is a good group of novilleros that are able to serve a quality spectacle; of course, it is for the mundillo to get this message out to the casual aficionado and create sufficient expectation for them to attend novilladas). Moreover, the weather looked horrible and the town was no longer in fiesta. Nevertheless, it is incumbent on the bullring impresario to organise his events to ensure the highest attendance possible at each one, perhaps a revised strategy is needed.

 

The first novillo of the afternoon suffered a voltereta early in its lidia which greatly reduced its strength and impetus. It was a novillo that required a firm hand in order to guide it through the pass, otherwise it was easily distracted. Although Espada seemingly had the ability to do so, and managed it on several occasions, his attempt at a faena was thwarted by the wind. Nevertheless he reminded us that he is a solid technician, although he carries out his work with certain coldness and needs to learn to communicate, through his toreo, with the crowd.

 

Espada’s second faena was on a similar level, although somewhat more emotive. Francisco José suffered a serious looking voltereta during the saludo capotero, which, thankfully, did not prevent him from continuing the lidia. The novillo had a profound charge, but did not readily repeat its charges. Espada was decisive, firm and able to extract a number of linked passes, which he eventually, as the faena developed, moulded into complete series. Another solid technical display from Espada who seems ready for the alternative. He has the technique to cope with the four year old, whether he can use this to create emotive and moving toreo will hold the key as to whether he can build a career for himself. Predictions are a mugs game, but I will say that it is tough for a novillero after the alternative and better young prospects than Espada are struggling to find a niche in the senior escalafón.

 

Climent performed a daring, but clumsy quite by gaoneras to the first bull. I will not question Climent’s valour in citing the bull for gaoneras from the centre of the ring in the middle of a howling gale, but the gaoneras were marked by excessive movement and therefore not altogether satisfactory. Climent undertook to place banderillas to his first novillo with mixed results. The highlight was the closing pair al remolino, not so much for the remolino (which stopped well before reaching the bull) but for the tight placement. He opened the faena on his knees in the centre of the ring and managed an exciting series with the right hand – the bull was mobile and vivacious. However, Climent was not able to channel these charges into emotive series en redondo once on his feet. The opening couple of exchanges were marked by the excessive distance between Climent and the novillo. Once the animal slowed and became more reticent, Climent was unable to gain the necessary steps between each pass in order to ensure the bull repeated its charges. A swift sword thrust allowed Cristian to cut an ear for a faena that barely merited such prize.

The fifth novillo was a tough opponent, liable to cut in on every pass and head to the man rather than the lures. It required a strong hand and a decisive matador. Unfortunately, Climent was unable to deal with the animal and its difficulties. Partly down the wind and partly down to his own shortcomings, he did not handle the lures with the firmness and confidence necessary to dominate the novillo. Climent is daring and aims to please, but he needs to develop technically in order to perform the controlled and reposed toreo he needs in order to further his career.

 

Leo Valadez welcomed his first novillo into the ring with pleasing tijerillas. Despite being his debut, he was assured in the lidia and also performed a cleanly executed, orthodox tercio de banderillas. His assured manner continued during the faena de muleta. The novillo was bland and the faena could not be brilliant, but Valadez showed his solid technical foundation and the ease with which he can manage novillos. There were the logical faults in someone of his experience, but it was an altogether positive calling card. Unfortunately, his performance with the sword was not at the level of his handling of the lures and he necessitated a number of thrusts and descabellos to conclude his work.   

 

By the time the sixth novillo hit the sand the afternoon had descended below mediocrity, the few enjoyable moments of the first half of the novillada were diluted by general malaise that overcame proceedings. Despite my earlier laments at the small attendance, those that stayed at home might have had a more pleasant afternoon (not to mention cheaper and warmer!). Valadez brightened the dark clouds of the afternoon with an attractive quite by zapopinas, his hands were held lower than is usual in such quite and he composed his figure almost like a manzanares-esque chicuelina – a very personal touch to a quite that can often seem untidy. He placed banderillas with mixed fortune, although in Leo’s defence the novillo was not ideal for banderillas as it was reticent to charge and pressed towards the boards. In light of this, the chances of a positive faena seemed slim. Nevertheless, after some tester passes, Valadez was able to settle and perform some very notable toreo with the left hand. The bull was vibrant, with a note of difficulty, but Valadez was able to control its charges with his left an extracted a couple of low and reposed series. A series with the right hand followed suit, with the added virtue of Valadez being able to sustain a bull that wanted to head for the boards. Valadez relaxed, passed the bull close to him, stayed still and extracted some very long passes. He killed effectively and cut a well-earned ear. A very solid debut for Valadez, although, for the crowd, it perhaps did not make up for the two previous lacklustre hours.

FALLAS 19/03/2015 - OCTAVA DE ABONO

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Garcigrande & Domingo Hernandez Bulls for Finito de Córdoba, El Juli & Miguel Ángel Perera.

Here we are at the final instalment of Las Fallas’ corridas – there are of course two novilladas left, and I am interested in assessing the junior escalafón, but this was our last chance to calibrate the senior escalafón for the moment. Our warm up act today was Finito de Córdoba. I must admit Finito is a guilty pleasure of mine. While I recognise that his career has been compromised by his own alarming inconsistency, it would be remiss not to value his long and elegant toreo when it does appear. I never go to the plaza expecting anything from el Fino, but when he delivers, usually in a small town ring where the pressure is off, he is a joy to behold. Last year he did well in Valencia and has therefore been rewarded with the opening slot on the feria’s big day. El Juli and Perera are arguably the two toreros that are battling for the head of the figuras’ table. Perera will aim to keep his status as the leading figura, while El Juli is no doubt setting his sights on taking this position (el toreo’s championship belt if you will) from Perera. However they lack the ability to attract the big crowds – it was therefore disappointing, although perhaps expected, that the ring was not full. There is a lesson to be drawn from this, but I am not sure what that might be at the moment. Let us then leaving the pondering to one side for the moment, and begin to assess the corrida.

The afternoon began with a sparkling series of verónicas by Finito, the Domingo Hernandez bull charged with class and impetus allowing Finito to perform an elegant, profound and slow recibo capotero. The genuflected media to conclude the greeting was a fitting sign off. El Juli intervened in quites with a bright couple of chicuelinas. The bull retained its mobility and nobility into the muleta, but Finito was unable to time and dominate it appropriately during the first couple of series en redondo with the right hand. The animal was classier and had a longer charge on the left side, which allowed Finito to perform two very profound and low series of naturales, the second of which was capped with an exquisite kikirikí. This was the emotive and elegant Finito that we had come to see. Back on the right side, Finito was able to get the measure extract some long and well timed pass to complete his faena – the full sword led to an unsuccessful petition for an ear, in light of some of the ears that have been granted in the feria, an award for Finito would not have been inappropriate.

Finito’s second bull was a beautiful burraco, I absolutely adore this colour coat. The bull reached the muleta with an edge of nerve which allowed Finito to perform some emotive series with the right hand characterised by his elegant style. However, the edge of nerve also caused inconsistency in its charge and therefore Finito did not engage fully with the bull and the faena lacked continuity. Perhaps a more confident Finito might have been able to extract more toreo from the bull. Even so, the whistles from certain sections of the crowd as he concluded with some passes de castigo were not warranted.

El Juli was able to craft a wonderful faena with the second bull. The animal displayed certain weakness in the opening tercios, but El Juli and his cuadrilla gave it the appropriate treatment in order to conserve its energy. The strong wind was no deterrent to El Juli who opted to construct his faena in the centre of the ring; combatting the wind by lowering his hand to such an extent that over half of the muleta dragged across the sand. The bull was able to cope with such dominance during El Juli’s opening series of nicely linked derechazos. El Juli’s concept of toreo is basic but emphatic, he seeks to take the bull as slow, as long and as low as his muleta allows. Thoroughly carefully timed and well-structured toreo fundamental he built his performance on this foundation with ever greater intensity. Once the bull was utterly dominated and fixated on his muleta, he concluded his faena a handful of roblesinas that served to bring the crowd to a climax.  An effective sword led to an award of two deserved ears. 

The gale continued to blow as El Juli mounted his muleta to face the fifth bull. He opened the faena de muleta with a dominant string of doblones to savour and took the bull to the centre of the ring to begin toreo en redondo with the left hand. It was extremely difficult to control the muelta as it flapped like a flag in the breeze, nevertheless, El Juli managed a profound couple of series of naturales. Taking the muleta with the right hand, the controlling toreo fundamental continued; El Juli once again holding the muelta extremely low to minimise the wind’s interference. The faena continued, based on toreo fundamental with either hand, the muletazos flowed long and slow, and the faena built to greater intensity as the passes became ever longer and slower. The bull’s main virtue was its duration, its charge was good, but not exceptional, yet its stamina, aided by El Juli’s prodigious technique, allowed for an extremely long faena. With toreo fundamental of such quality, there was no need for an arrimón, just the odd adorno to conclude each series. The highlight of which was as an insultingly dominant pase del desdén. A full and effective sword capped what had been the faena de la feria thus far.

The third bull of the corrida was noble, but distracted. It would follow the lure nicely at the start of the pass, but lose interest half way and leave the torero’s jurisdiction with its head in the clouds. With such raw material Perera was unable to perform consistently worthy toreo en redondo; his series were well timed but their linking suffered due to the bull’s condition. Faced with such problems, he opted for one of his characteristic arrimones. His figure of eight toreo was executed with pure stillness and followed by a series of exciting luquesinas which moved the crowd and contributed to the ear that he received.

Perera was able to cut another ear from the closing bull and therefore sealed his exit on shoulders alongside El Juli. Clearly motivated by his cartel partner’s triumph, Perera began the faena with both knees on the ground performing passes por alto that were not mere muleta flaps, but aimed to control the bull through the pass. This dramatic opening series concluded with two passes en redondo and a circular. This was probably the most controlled and emotive toreo de rodillas since Cesár Jímenez’s heyday. Perera’s controlled toreo continued once on his feet in the centre of the ring. He was able to tame both of his opponents (the bull and the wind) with a well-timed muleta that allowed him to build his characteristic faena. That is, well linked, supremely still toreo en redondo, which on this occasion was wonderfully slow, concluded with confidently executed ojedismo. The bull was classy, but lacked stamina. Nevertheless, it lasted long enough for Perera to perform an emotive faena and showcase is superiority over the bull.

One last note in favour of the Garcigrande bulls. Today they showed why they are favoured by the figuras; their behaviour was an excellent mix of class and mobility which enabled good toreo and created emotion. The encaste Domecq takes some criticism from aficionados (rightly so, some of the bulls it produces are very poor), however, it is partly a victim of its own success. The quality of the leading Domecq ranches is obscured by the scores of ganaderías that have been created from Juan Pedro Domecq’s seed, many of which are terribly inconsistent. Perhaps if we were fed a steady diet of varied encastes, the good Domecqs would be correctly valued.

           

FALLAS 18/03/2015 - SEXTA DE ABONO

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

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.

 

FALLAS 17/03/2015 - QUINTA DE ABONO

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Alcurrucén Bulls for Juan José Padilla, Miguel Abellán and Diego Urdiales.

The corrida began with a beautiful black and white girón bull with a reticent charge. Padilla is a capable technician and used the mobility that the bull possessed when it was minded to charge to construct a superficial but attractive faena. There was no moving toreo en redondo, but rather plenty fundamental and accessorial passes that served to keep the populist section of the crowd engaged. He concluded the faena with a full but ineffective estocada that required the descabello to complete the task.

The lidia to the fourth bull began brightly. In typical Padilla style, he welcomed the faena with a couple of largas on his knees, which always please the crowd, and satisfactory veronicas which the aficionado would have welcomed. The bull had a mobile charge that Padilla was able to exploit in an attractive galleo by chicuelinas to take it to the horse. The spectacle continued with a pleasing tercio de banderillas. Two pairs al cuarteo that were executed within an acceptable distance of the bull’s horns and a pair al violin that accomplished its purpose of stirring the crowd. Sadly the faean de muleta was almost entirely non-existant. It began with hopeful kneeing down muletazos, but the excitement of the crowd at the populist toreo did not match the bull’s worryingly inspid charge. I am inclined to think that the bull had a medical problem rather than a lack of strength because, from this point on, it was barely able to move and eventually, after a some long minutes of Padilla posturing with the muleta and then the sword, collapsed on its side before the matador from Jerez was able to give an estocada. The conclusion is a sad spectacle for the fiesta.

Miguel Abellán’s first bull had a profound charge that had to be teased out of it. The animal would not give up the charge readily, you had to present the lure right up against his nose and keep the muleta in its face between each pass to ensure it repeated the charges. Along these technical lines Miguel was able to perform three deep series of derechazos. The faena as a whole had emotive peaks and troughs brought by the animal’s reticence to charge, on occasions, but as a whole it was a technically correct and pleasing work which was moving on occasions.  The tardy effects of a full estocada probably prevented Miguel from cutting an ear that a majority of the crowd had petitioned.

When the fifth bull came out of the pen, we were at that disconcerting point of the afternoon hwere the pre-corrida optimism has turned to pessimism faced, as we were, with another string of underwhelming bulls… Such pessimism was not helped by the untidy charge of this bull, a nervy reticence to charge that was founded on its mansedumbre. Abellán sought to focus the animals charge with some pleasing early doblones before giving it distance for the first series of derechazos. The bull charged with mobility and repeated, which allowed for a linked series, but marked by the informal charge. The two subsequent series followed the same form, it was not pretty toreo, but pleasing in their control of a nervy bull. By the time Abellán took the left hand the bull had lost interest in charging. Abellán tried another series on the right side, in an attempt to raise the temperature of the faena and cut an ear. He might have been better served opting for the sword, over and above the prize of an ovation he received at the end of the faena, the merit of the performance was in his ability to have dominated a nervy bull. Moreover, the afternoon was further confirmation that the improved torero we saw last year has returned in 2015.

The third sword this afternoon was Diego Urdiales, a veteran torero with a strong core of supporers who feel that he is unfairly marginalised by the system. While I will not be the one arguing for the equity of the current mundillo, I feel that he receives about the right amount of contracts; he is a very good torero, and Sevilla should have certainly found a spot for him, but I think that he is firmly part of the second tier and therefore a step below the leading toreros and figuras. With the third bull he showed his positive qualities. The bull was mediocre, but Urdiales was firm and performed an intense faena marked by his personal aesthetic expression. Some of his individual passes an redondo were truly beautiful, and the naturales a pies juntos with which he concluded the faena were an attractive tip of the hat to toreo de frente. The faena was worth an ear, but Urdiales lost this with poor sword work.  

Urdiales opted for some low genuflected test passes to begin his muleta work with the final bull. The animal was strong enough to charge, but reticent to do so with vigour and emotion. Urdiales’ only option, therefore, was to stand his ground and exert his dominance and control over the bull. He managed some distinctive passes to savour, but the faena, taken as a whole was inconsistent and un-motive because of the bull’s condition.  Urdiales’ performance this afternoon was encouraging, he was able to extract the little that each of his bulls offered.

FALLAS 16/03/2015 - CUARTA DE ABONO

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Juan Pedro Domecq Bulls for El Soro, Enrique Ponce & José María Manzanares.

This afternoon marked a double celebration for Valencia. The city’s popular hero, El Soro was reappearing in its plaza following a long and arduous recovery from a succession of knee operations. His paseillo this afternoon marked a triumph of the spirit, the question was whether his battered body would be up to the task. I will allow myself to get misty eyed over the afternoon’s second cause for celebration, the twenty fifth anniversary of Enrique Ponce’s alternativa. Enrique Ponce has been a torero for as long as I have been an aficionado, I do not know a fiesta without Ponce, and during that time he has given me countless afternoons of joy.  His next great faena will be just around the corner, I can only hope that I will be able to experience it. The third torero on the cartel, José María Manzanares, is not from Valencia, but being from just down the road in Alicante means that he is almost considered a local lad and capped the line-up with an artistic edge. The behaviour of the Juan Pedros would hold the key to the afternoon, I find it an inconsistent ranch. It does provide a classy bull, but it is also a ranch that is more than capable of providing an absolutely putrid string.

To see El Soro take the ring was a miracle in itself, it was clear as he made the paseillo how much his movement is impaired by his bionic knees. It was therefore fortunate that his first bull was a noble, almost docile, animal that allowed him to perform the lidia with ease. El Soro engaged the crowd in the first two tercios with his varied toreo and, just as significantly, his affable, infectious personality. Toreo is a performance art, and El Soro took the stage and managed the crowd with great skill. His veronicas to receive the bull were respectable and his tercio de quites varied and attractive. The highlight of the Soro display is, of course, the banderillas during which he surgically repaired knees were no obstacle to a pleasing tercio that included his daring pair al remolino. El Soro continued to handle the crowd during the faena de muleta, selling his muleta work and adorning it with extra-taurine actions such as planting a valencian flag in the centre of the ring. A strictly technical appraisal of the faena would not be altogether kind on El Soro given his inability with the right hand to lower the muleta or pass the bull close to him. However, this was a special afternoon where the crowd was willing to forgive such details just to be able to honour its hero one last time, besides, his toreo al natural was objectively excellent and profound. With the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, only poor sword work prevented Vicente Ruíz from cutting an ear.

The show contined with the fourth bull, beginning with a larga cambiada a porta gayola executed while sitting on a chair. On the one side, the chair evokes images of Rafael El Gallo toreando on a chair, but it also served as a reminder that this was a torero that was too physically limited to get to his knees. El Soro once again shone with the banderillas, surpassing his previous effort with some risky and tight al caurteo and an even more dramatic and pronounced par al remolino. This fourth bull was did not have the sweet charge of the opener and El Soro was unable to construct a meaningful faena, which, of course, did not prevent the crowd from cheering on his every pass. They would have even strongly petitioned for an ear that the president did not grant. However, the afternoon ended on a sour note for El Soro with a serious voltereta suffering injured vertebrae – a reminder, as if we ever needed one that toreo is a serious proposition indeed. As a one off performance, El Soro’s return to Valencia was the type of emotive afternoon that the fiesta can give us, however, because of the physical limitations on his toreo, it should not be an experiment that is repeated, for El Soro and la fiesta’s benefit.

Enrique Ponce’s first bull was a nervy animal, with mobility, but lack class. Enrique’s muleta was a well-timed balsam for the bull’s encastado charge, Enrique presented it at the correct height and with conviction to ensure that the animal followed the lure, evening though it kept on looking at the man and repeated its charges. After the first couple of seies with the right hand, Ponce had dominated the animal and smoothed its rough charge. It was at this point that Enrique was able to relax and perform an excellent series of perfectly linked and profound naturales. He then performed classy toreo en redondo at his pleasure with either hand. This was vintage Ponce, using his prodigious technique to solve the problems posed by the bull and then relying on his artistic ability to construct an emotive faena. An effective sword gave way to an ear. 

Enrique’s second bull was of the putrid variety, weak and docile it was the antithesis of the notion of a toro bravo. Enrique persevered with the animal, presenting the lures at mid-height in an attempt at making it charge, but it was pointless. He killed with an estocada caida and was awarded with a generous ovation.  

The third bull of the afternoon was weak with an unemotive charge. Manzanares spent a great deal of time trying to perform a worthwhile faena with it but it was difficult with such raw material. There were some good passes, given the sheer sum of muletazos the odd one or two were bound to be worthwhile but, despite the music playing and the crowd’s cheers, the faena left me unmoved. Manzanares was sure of himself throughout the performance and worked closely to the bull. He did well to keep the crowd’s attention despite the bull’s failings and concluded with circulares and a desplante with the telefono.

Manzanares’ final bull was noble and insipid. However, José Mari has the class and aesthetic to give such bland charge emotion. His derechazos were silky, although they could have been performed closer to the bull, and well linked. This is not the tauromaquia that we want to see, a degenerated ballet before a non-entity of a bull, but when faced with such lemons, at least we were served lemonade. A sizeable minority petitioned for an ear following an estocada, which was not attended by the president.

The corrida had been presented as the celebration of two Valencian heroes, but was characterised by the dull string of Juan Pedros. Ironically, the type of bull that prevented Ponce from celebrating his twenty fifth anniversary with the brilliance it deserved, allowed El Soro to manage the lidia and take Valencia back to the eighties and the height of sorismo. José María Manzanares was the third wheel among all the celebration, and was encumbered by the poor bulls as much as Ponce.

FALLAS 15/03/2015 - TERCERA DE ABONO

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

 Nuñez del Cuvillo Bulls for El Fandi, Sebastián Castella & Román.

I am sure that anyone familiar with the Fandi show will not be surprised that he opened the corrida with a larga cambiada de rodillas. Similarly, it should no longer be a secret that, once on his feet he can perform delicate veronicas characterised by their low hands and slow execution. This afternoon was no different, but, rather than persevering with the pure toreo, he concluded the recibo capotero with some plain chicuelinas. El Fandi’s principal virtue is his ability to engage the crowd throughout the early tercios; today his interventions with the capote were a closely worked galleo by chicuelinas and an attractive quite by zapopinas. Castella also performed a quite, three slowly worked tafalleras that were acceptable but nothing more. The tercio de banderillas was Fandi by numbers, he placed two pairs al cuarteo, a toro pasado, and one al violin with ease, and punctuated each pair with the odd recorte. It was an attractive tercio, and the crowd certainly enjoyed the performance, however, as an aficionado who has seen a great deal of El Fandi, it left me unmoved. The bull was not blessed with excessive strength, and what little it had was sapped by a voltereta during the opening test passes. The faena was therefore a non-entity.

El Fandi performed a variety of quotes and galleos with the capote during the first tercio of his second bull, his galleo by gaoneras capped with a tight recorte to take the bull to the horse was particularly pleasing. His tercio de banderillas was more a showcase of David’s physical dominace over the bull rather than pure execution. That said, his two in one to finish the tercio was acceptably executed and capped with El Fandi’s typical backwards run, timing the bull’s charge with his legs and continuing until the bull stops. The animal moved without much emotion during the final tercio. El Fandi was able to torear cleanly, but without creating beauty. El Fandi has the technique to control the bull and the variety to attract the crowd, however, his toreo de muleta lacks emotion. Nevertheless, the crowd enjoyed his performance, especially his desplantes and remates on his knees and soulless manoletinas. El Fandi’s efficient sword killed the bull from one estocada contraria allowing him to cut an ear that the crowd petitioned enthusiastically (the petition was no less enthusiastic for the second ear, but this award would have been ridiculous). However, for me, the faena was like so many others of El Fandi that leave me cold.

Castella began his first faena with some ayudados por alto and the bull’s charge did not augur well, it seemed to have a short charge, punctuated by a jump at its conclusion. However, when Sebastián took it to the centre of the ring to torear en redondo the bull gained an extra gear and allowed for a couple of good series of derechazos. Castella took the bull long and low as it followed the lure with vigour. His opponent's charge was slightly tardy on the left side, but this did not prevent Castella from extracting a couple of sensational long and silky naturales. The faena continued in this vein until the bull’s run dry, at which point Castella opted for a populist series of circulares, executed cleanly and closely, which served to excite the crowd prior to the estocada. The pinchazo that preceded the full sword was no obstacle to the crowd petitioning for an ear that the president duly granted.

The afternoon's great faena came at the hands of Sebastian Castella with the fifth Cuvillo. A noble bull, with a sweet charge and the mobility to support demanding toreo. The doubt was whether Castella, a torero known for his valour and stillness, but whose toreo en redondo has on occasions underwhelmed. The answer came with the first two series of excellently linked derechazos. Seamlessly sewn together, they were silky mathing the bull’s noble charge. Castella took a couple of passes to get the measure of the bull on the left side, but, the smooth, soft toreo continued al natural. There was little need for arrimones and other populist pyrotechnics, the toreo fundamental was strong enough to lift the crowd on its own. By the end of the faena we had our answer to our questions over Castella’s toreo, it has developed a smoothness and extra dimension that allowed it to be at the level of this classy bull. As always when we have a decent bull, a minority begins to petition for the indulto. An indulto that, on this occasion would have been entirely unwarranted, even the vuelta al ruedo for the toro was borderline. Castella’s two ears, however, were justified, especially given the well-executed estocada with which he dispatched the bull.

Román’s opening to his first faena was a dramatic couple of arrucinas executed in the centre of the ring citing the bull from distance, he remained deadly still as the bull brushed passed him. The bull repeated its charges, but had an uncomfortable flick of the head at the end of each pass; when Román was able to time his pass well and avoid the lure being hooked, the passes flowed smooth and emotive. However, there were too many enganchones that took momentum away from the faena. The highlight was an excellent series of slow and long naturales, engaging the bull at the start of the pass and curving its trajectory around his body. It was a pity that the faena was lost among excessive enganchones and occasionally rapid toreo.   

The afternoon’s claosing bull was weak and noble. It allowed Román to perform a long faena with little meaning. Román’s toreo can be slow and moving, but he needs to perfect his technique and understanding of bulls in order to allow his advanced concept to flourish. He is young and we will give him time.

 

FALLAS 14/03/2015 - SEGUNDA DE ABONO

The view from the sofa, my thoughts on corridas I have watched on TV.

Victoriano del Río Bulls for Morante de la Puebla, El Juli& Daniel Luque.

If yesterday was the feria’s weakest cartel, this afternoon, we were presented with, arguably, the Fallas’ most attractive combination of bulls and toreros. Each of the remaining cartels has, in my view a weak point, usually the veteran opener that stars of the programme request. However, here we had two figuras, in Morante and El Juli, each looking to rebound from a somewhat underwhelming 2014 and Daniel Luque, one of the leading candidates ascend to figura status, who in turn enjoyed his best season in 2014. On paper, the Victoriano del Río bulls should provide adequate material for each matador to display their tauromaquia. 

Morante’s opening bull had nerve, but lacked class. A complicated proposition. Although it would follow the lure when it was presented with conviction (it charged well to José Antonio Carretero’s cape), its reticence made it an uncomfortable opponent. Morante was not in the mood to spend a faena trying to solve its problems, thus opting for a few passes de castigo and the kill. He was rewarded with a chorus of whistles for his trouble.

The fourth bull had an undefined charge through the first tercio, however, as the horses left the arena, it gave Morante five delicate charges that the Sevillian artist used to sculpt four marvellous veronicas and a media. Four seamlessly linked, low, smooth and sweetly timed passes wherein the torero’s whole body accompanied the charge. A timely reminder that Morante is an all-time great with the pink cape. Morante began the faena with beautiful ayudados por alto. Despite its brilliance, the punishing beginning was perhaps not the ideal start given the bull’s condition. Nevertheless, the bull maintained sufficient nobility and vigour to allow for a stirring faena based around series of toreo fundamental with either hand. Morante is not one to alleviate a bull’s charge with his toreo, and these were low and demanding series of long muletazos. The highlight were three well linked, long and curved naturales that brought the crowd to its feet. As is characteristic in Morante, the toreo acesorio was just as significant as the toreo en redondo. He sprinkled a farol, molinete with the left hand, pase de las flores and molinete abelmontado across the faena. It was a pity that the excellent estocada with which he killed the bull was preceded by a pinchazo as it no doubt cost him the bull’s second ear. 

El Juli’s first bull allowed his and Daniel Luque’s capework to shine. El Juli opened with pleasing veronicas, taking the bull away from the boards with each successive pass and concluding with a nice media and attractive revolera. El Juli opted for chicuelinas at the quite, these required valour to wait as he gave the bull distance and it galloped slowly towards him. Daniel Luque is an underrated capotero – he could conceivably be regarded as the second best capotero in the escalafón after Morante – and confirmed this with a well worked quite by veronicas and delantales, the quite’s second pass was truly exceptional. 

The bull was noble and willing to charge and El Juli masterfully applied his good timing to channel this into two very good series of derechazos to open the faena. The bull lacked the casta to grow into the faena, and seemed less willing to charge thereafter. El Juli’s applied his masterful muleta to extract one more series with each hand before working his way in between the bull’s horns for an ojedista arrimón. I often criticise this type of ending when it is ill conceived or, plainly, not executed correctly. However, El Juli’s arrrimón was emotive, not only was he working close to the bull, with its horns literally brushing his thighs, but the closeness was a means to extract a string of long, low and slow derechazos. This arrimón was a well worked combination of pure and brave toreo. El Juli necessitated a pinchazo, low estocada and descabello to kill the bull and therefore lost a potential ear. The minor petition was unwarranted given the poor execution of the supreme suerte, it is as if the crowd needs an ear in order to ratify that it has seen good toreo, rather than accept good toreo as an end in itself.

The fifth bull’s charge did not fill us with hope; it was classless and lacked commitment to lower its head. However, El Juli’s powerful muleta was the perfect tool with which to correct these defects and convert its mobility into a worthwhile charge. El Juli lowered his hand and timed the cloth; the bull had no choice by to follow the lures and repeat its charges. El Juli was thus able to construct a worthwhile faena, largely based on the right side, but with some work al natural. It was not an emotive performance, rather, one was left with the satisfaction of a job well done, of correctly executed and masterfully technical toreo. El Juli concluded with six very closely worked manoletinas given in a profile stance during which a sensation of danger, despite the torero being entirely in control. A three quarters estocada led to an ear and a frenzied petition for a second, which was rightly ignored. 

 

Luque welcomed his first bull into the ring with a series of lovely veronicas, he gave some isolated passes at first. As the bull gained its focus, Daniel linked a long series of slow, low and smooth veronicas that took him from the tercio to los medios. The excellent cape work continued into the first tercio with a pretty galleo by chicuelinas to take the bull to the horse, these were characterised by Luque’s low hands and rhythmic execution. The galleo was capped by a surprising tijerilla. Luque displayed variety with an attractive quite by cordobinas, those on the left side were particularly good. In all Luque’s intervention with the capote confirmed his status as a leading capotero and served to keep the crowd engaged throughout the first tercio. 

Daniel opened with estatuarios controlling the bull though the pass while executing them with calm stillness and concluding with some remates por bajo to savour. The first two series of derechazos were well linked, but the bull was losing impetus and the passes lacked emotion. The bull maintained its class on the left side, which allowed Luque to perform the odd excellent natural within a long and ntermittent series. The bull was no longer apt for toreo en redondo, so Luque resorted to well linked and closely worked figure of eight toreo that lifted the crowd and the faena.  With the bull rajado, Luque concluded his faena with a long, clean and continuous series of luquesinas. Luque had correctly structured his faena to ensure that it maintained an emotional intensity as the bull’s charge lost its vigour. Despite the defective sword, which necessitated the descabello, Luque was awarded the ear that his cape and muleta work deserved.  

Luque’s good afternoon with the capote continued with his greeting to the sixth bull, four dominant genuflected veronicas and another four on his feet that were delicately executed with low hands. The double media to conclude the greeting was emphatic. Once again, Daniel intervened in quites with a string of attractive chicuelinas with an open stance. By the tercio de muleta, the bull’s charge lacked conviction; it retained mobility, but lacked a brave desire to chase the lure. It was a complex and ungrateful bull that, while not boring, did not allow for consistently good toreo en redondo. The second series of derechazos was emotive, but the remainder of the faena was as inconsistent as the bull’s charge. A series of luquesinas closed the faena and provided the crowd with pyrotechnics that would have no doubt convinced it to petition for an ear had the sword travelled true.