10 questions for Sevilla’s Feria de Abril

With the city’s carteles for its 2022 temporada now published, there are a number of questions that Sevilla is positioned to answer during Easter Sunday and its Feria de Abril:

1…Is this the cartel of the year?

Valencia and La Linea de la Concepción will have already beaten Sevilla in combining Morante de la Puebla, Juan Ortega and Pablo Aguado in one cartel by the time of Easter Sunday, but it will probably be Sevilla’s most prestigious corrida (when the trio - as in Valencia - will face bulls of Juan Pedro Domecq) that determines whether the cartel continues to be featured throughout the 2022 season. It’s been a while since Spain has become fixated on a particular cartel (the mind goes back to El Tato’s and Pepín Liria’s busy temporada together after a successful mano a mano at the Sevilla feria), but everything’s in place for it to happen again.

2…Will the feria see a breakthrough performance by a local torero?

Sevilla has always favoured its own and the 2022 programme is no exception, with Ramón Valencia expressing satisfaction that “47% de la cartelería son toreros sevillanos”. The least well-known feria participants are the sevillanos Lama de Góngora, Ángel Jiménez and Alfonso Cadaval, while the more experienced Oliva Soto, Esaú Fernández, Javier and Borja Jiménez will also be hoping to make the most of their feria opportunity and follow in the footsteps of fellow Sevillian Pablo Aguado to reach the big time. All of these apart from Cadaval will have just one bull to make an impact, the empresa having opted for an ‘opportunidad’ corrida of Virgen María bulls (a French-owned ganadería based near Sevilla and making their début in La Maestranza) for April 24 instead of the novillada he originally had in mind for that day.

3…Has Pablo Aguado fully recovered from last year’s knee injury?

Aguado had to pull out from 2020’s Feria de San Miguel after a knee injury he’d been carrying for a while finally cried enough during the first of his three planned appearances in La Maestranza. Will he be fully fit in time for Sevilla’s April Fair? Post-operation, at the Club Taurino of London’s Anniversary Lunch in November, he said his knee was improving slowly and he remained sufficiently conscious of it that he wouldn’t be photographed demonstrating toreo de salón. A recent video shows the strenuous recuperation the matador has been involved in since his operation, but tantalisingly ended at the point where the calf in his first tentadero entered the ring. Aguado is due to reappear at Illescas on March 12 and, if all goes well, will have at least five corridas under his belt come Easter Sunday. After lacklustre temporadas in 2020 and 2021, he needs a triumph in an important plaza to propel him forward.

4…Can Diego Urdiales consolidate his San Miguel triumph?

It’s unusual for a torero from outside Andalucía to win the hearts of Sevilla’s afición, but that’s what Urdiales (from Arnedo, in La Rioja) achieved when winning two ears from a Garcigrande bull on October 2 last year. He’s rewarded with two appearances in the April Feria with bulls of Jandilla and Hermanos García Jiménez and will be hoping to triumph once again.

5…Will Sevilla see some toreros make a case for rejoining the main feria circuit?

Their apoderados’ efforts have seen José Garrido and Álvaro Lorenzo each secure a place in the April Feria carteles, both facing bulls of Domecq lineage. Will they let the train go by once again? Manuel Escribano’s decision to face six Miura bulls on May 8 is also his attempt to make sufficient impact to become a feria regular once more in 2022.

6…Can Ginés Marín duplicate his Madrid success?

Ginés Marín ended last season with a major success at Las Ventas, going out the Puerta Grande after cutting two ears from a bull of Alcurrucén. He has just one corrida in the Feria de Abril, facing bulls of Juan Pedro Domecq/Parladé, which the empresa says he has high hopes for, on May 3. Can Ginés do it again?

7…Who will triumph with the victorinos?

For my money, the most interesting cartel of the Feria is on April 30 when Antonio Ferrera (in his sole Feria appearance), Miguel Ángel Perera and Emilio de Justo take on bulls of Victorino Martín. The competition between these three highly adept matadors should be intense, and it will be fascinating to see which of them comes out on top.

8…How will Tomás Rufo fare in his first major appearance as a matador de toros?

May 2 marks young Tomás Rufo’s debut as a matador de toros in a plaza de primera. Given he’s not from Andalucía, it’s a surprise that the toledano has gained not one, but two places in Sevilla’s temporada, with a further appearance lined up in the Feria de San Miguel. But it’s already become clear the mundillo is opening up the main feria carteles for him in his first full season as a matador in a way that hasn’t been seen since Andrés Roca Rey was awarded similar access. Tomás will be keen to show the sevillanos just how good he is.

9…How will Manuel Perera’s alternativa influence his temporada?

Juan José Padilla, as Perera’s apoderado, did a fine job in securing contracts for his youngster last year and has done it again by achieving a date for his alternativa in La Maestranza on May 7 (although plans for a final novillada earlier in the Feria for his protegé fell through). A strong afternoon could prove to be the gateway to a busy 2022 season for the extremeño, and there is some indication he needs it - at present, with the established figuras (plus Rufo) hogging the carteles, the only post-alternativa corrida announced for him is with victorinos in August at Almendralejo, raising concerns that Padilla is pushing his charge too soon.

10…Can the public have too much of Morante de la Puebla?

Given it’s the Seville public, the answer’s probably no, but it will be interesting to see how Morante’s four afternoons go, both in terms of performance and attendance. Last year, José Antonio achieved a level of consistency he’s never managed before - San Miguel was a good example, the matador trying to do well on each of his four afternoons then, and securing an historic two-ear triumph with a juanpedro. Can he do that again? With regard to attendance, Easter Sunday and his May 6 afternoon with Andrés Roca Rey should be sell-outs, but how will his other two afternoons - including May 7, when he asked to face torrestrellas - fare? Whatever happens (apart from injury), we will be seeing a lot of Morante this year, with current rumours alleging he has already secured 100 contracts in a range of plazas and facing a variety of hierros.