Categoría: the bulls in English

9 October 2018, Festival. Dia de la Tauromaquia, partly in aid of juvenile cancer research, in memory of Adrián Plaza almost sold out. Bulls of different ages (in between October 2013 and July 2015) for: rejoneador Fermín Bohórquez (Fermín Bohórquez), Enrique Ponce (Daniel Ruiz), El Juli (Garcigrande), José María Manzanares (Núñez del Cuvillo), Román Collado (Juan Pedro Domecq), Alvaro Lorenzo (Daniel Ruiz) and novillero Borja Collado (Fuente Ymbro). It started at 6 pm. and finished at 9 pm. Rain The refined, classic rejoneo by Fermin Bohorquez, who opened the festival, was a breath of fresh air compared to the loud nonsense we see so often in rejoneo nowadays. Fermin ran one of his own bulls, a strong animal which gave excellent chase. One rejon, four banderillas and a pair of cortos an estocada and a petition got the veteran the first ear of the evening. Ponce’s toreo was empty esthetics. His Daniel Ruiz bull fell over at the first sight of a capote, took one pic and deflated. Even so, for more than ten minutes Ponce made us believe we were seeing something incredible. The crowd believed him and after an estocada brought out everything white to wave and awarded him with two ears. When El Juli’s Garcigrande bull entered the arena, his horns were five centimetres shorter than nature had made them. Julian performed one of his typical...

Novillos but no novilleros. Sunday, October 7, 2018, novillada picada, Valencia. Novillos from Los Maños, of pure Santa Coloma heritage. Aviador, Tostadino, Quejoso, Cupletero, Lorenzo (the name should be banned forever as it was a Los Mano’s Lorenzo that killed Victor Barrio) and Bonito. Excellently presented, bravos and noble. Every novillo came out of the toril gate like shot from a canon. Too clever, too strong, too complicated and far too generous for Jesús Chover (black and gold), Borja Alvarez (claret and gold) and Cristian Climent (blue and gold). A windy afternoon with spring temperatures in October. Jesús Chover received his first bull a porta gayola and placed his own banderillas, constantly sought confirmation from the public, but never recognized the quality of his opponents. Both novillos allowed him a series of right hand passes, his second bull even gave him one of his ears as a trophy after a solid estocada. The two bulls were applauded when they were pulled from the arena. Chover dedicated his second novillo to his apoderado Vicente Ruiz El Soro who, after weeks of being hospitalized with a very serious infection to his leg, attended the novillada from one of the terraces. ¡Animo maestro! The first opponent for Borja Alvarez charged the picador from well beyond the centre of the arena but lost some quality when he charged the muleta. A pinchazo, an...

Valencia, novillada sin picadores, October 6, 2018. Novillos from Lopez Gibaja, a ganaderia formed 25 years ago with Carlos Nuñez lineage, butnow use seedbulls from Toros de El Torero. In general well presented. Some gave the novilleros the chance to shine, others lacked strength or were too much to handle. For Diego Garcia (tauromaquia school of Colmenar Viejo), Yon Lamothe (-Bayonne), Jordi Pérez (-Valencia), Miguel Polope (-Valencia), Juan José Villa ‘Villita’ (-Madrid) and Fran de Vane (-Albacete). A fine summer evening in October with half the plaza filled. First novillo: #48, Uncidor. Weak, uninterested. Stumbled through the faena. For Diego Garcia (grass green and gold) who gave us some details in the faena but killed with a vertical sword and still walked a lap of honor, after a minor petition. Second novillo: #1, Ultimobaile. Ugly horns, weak, falls over several times in banderillas, for Yon Lamothe a very tall and thin young Frenchman (purple and gold) who also killed with a vertical sword and needed several attempts with the descabello. Aviso. Silence. Third novillo: #23, Sembrado. Uninterested at first, but a strong willed bravo animal, excellent in a fine quite by Miguel Polope, for Jordi Pérez (faded light blue and gold suit). Great faena with low passes on both sides, with the novillero completely in charge. Good estocada. Petition for two ears but Is awarded one ear and walks...

First class bullring, third class novillos. Novillada with picadores. Saturday May 12, at the coso de Monleón, Valencia. Novillos from Gómez de Morales, new to this bullring, for the novilleros Christian Climent in blue and gold, Jorge Isiegas (night blue) and madrileñan Carlos Ochoa who was dressed in bright pink and gold. A warm evening and with half the plaza filled. Gómez de Morales’ ganaderia was established in 1999 and originally started out as a branch of the renowned Perez Tabernero family from Salamanca. However, in 2005 the Santa Colomas of don Alipio were exchanged for Atanasio Fernandez blood which in 2010, sadly, made way for the more commercial Juan Pedro Domecq bloodline. At the sorteo and subsequent enchiqueramiento, the novillos could best be described as nondescript black juanpedros, with a general weight of around 460 kilos and not exceptionally well armed (the only astifino animal went as a substitute…). That was at noon. At 9 p.m. when the last dead novillo left the arena, it had been the most boring, non-novillada I ever witnessed. Every drop of toro bravo blood was squashed out of these three-year olds. They either fell at the first touch of the picador’s steel or slid to their knees when the first banderilla was placed. These disgraceful animals should never have been brought to a first category plaza like Valencia’s. What we had to...