Valladolid, September 8: An interesting and fond farewell
I learned the news immediately after yesterday’s corrida - in a tienta that day, the wound he’d originally received in El Puerto de Santa María last month, and which had been re-operated upon recently, had re-opened and Andrés Roca Rey would be unable to make his much-anticipated debut with victorinos alongside El Juli and Emilio de Justo.
The “cartel of the year” (for which Tauroemoción were charging higher prices than for Valladolid’s standard corridas) had immediately lost its status. But what we had instead was an absorbing mano a mano in front of a full plaza, give or take a few seats; very few spectators had clearly reacted to the circumstances by seeking a refund on their tickets.
Although 2023 marks the 25th year of El Juli’s career as a matador de toros, he hadn’t faced victorinos for 15 years before today. How pleased he must have been, then, when his first animal came out and showed a fixity on the lure, a lowered head and some weakness in its front legs - just the sort of bull El Juli has become used to! His verónicas, smooth and templadas, were superb, as was the faena (dedicated to the plaza) - a delicate taking of the bull to the centre of the ring, closed with a molinete, and the cloth soon moved to the left hand, on which most of the faena took place, with exact positioning and exquisite temple throughout. His estocada wasn’t too bad by El Juli standards and had immediate effect. The crowd petitioned for two ears: the president opted for one and was whistled after the matador’s vuelta.
The lidia of the second victorino began strongly, Emilio de Justo caping it to the centre of the ring with half-kneeling verónicas and closing with an upright chicuelina. However, it was clear by the tercio de banderillas that this bull had a short charge; Emilio did what he could in the faena, the bull also refusing to lower its head, but the killing was poor - five times Emilio hit bone before opting for a bajonazo. The bull was dragged out to pitos.
The next victorino was very distracted and dangerous; it almost caught Agustín de Esapartinas en banderillas. El Juli opted to have the animal take two puyazos, but there was little doing in the faena, the bull being more interested in sniffing the ground than in the muleta. For some reason, the band struck up, and El Juli’s requests that it stop were in vain. Finally, the madrileño resorted to cutting passes before delivering two pinchazos, the bull not needing an estocada before it fell. More pitos were given en arrastre.
Allthough he gave his second victorino some fine verónicas and a sweet lead in to the picador, there was no quite and it was clear Emilio de Justo was saving this animal for the faena. Morenito de Arles placed some nice sticks. The faena, indeed, was excellent with intense and focussed series of derechazos and naturales, crowned with curving chest passes, Emilio resting the animal in between tandas, and a closing sequence of pases de frente. The estocada was caida and a lengthy death ensued, during which the matador, unable to descabellar, received two avisos. Eventually, the bull fell (and was given deserved applause en arrastre) and de Justo was awarded its ear.
El Juli opted to give little capework to the afternoon’s fifth victorino, like all but the third of today’s bulls given one pic, but also the recipient of some terrific banderillas from Álvaro Montes. El Juli dedicated his possibly final faena in Valladolid to one of its citizens - his former apoderado, Roberto Domínguez, sitting high up in the tendido (and blew him a kiss when he retrieved his montera at the faena’s end). The faena was a strong one, performed almost entirely on the left hand, Julián stretching the passes to their fullest extent and interspersing series with molinetes or a remate looking towards the spectators. The crowd, in turn, were shouting out, “Viva El Juli!”, “Gracias, Julián” and one tendido joined in a sing-song of ‘Adiós de la corazón’ (the matador has achieved more puerta grande triumphs in Valladolid than in any other plaza). It ended with a typical leaping estocada, the sword delivered from the bull’s side and dropping the animal, but the spectators were prepared to overlook this defect, perhaps still conscious of the robbery that had occurred on El Juli’s opening bull, and awarded him an ear and yet one more Valladolid salida a hombros.
The last victorino, ‘Directivo’, was a powerful, hard charging animal, given patchy capework by its matador. The banderilleros Juan José Domínguez and Pérez Valcarce took saludos after an impressive tercio. Emilio de Justo called El Juli back on to the sand for the brindis, then produced another lengthy faena, rough and rapid at first but evolving into series after series of superb muletazos, the majority given with the left hand. Come the swordwork, though, we were back to the story of his first bull - four pinchazos hitting bone and a final thrust to the lungs. Emilio could not hide his disappointment at failing to join El Juli in a salida a hombros, but received applause for his efforts. ‘Directivo’, too, the best victorino of the afternoon, was rightly applauded en arrastre.
Whilst not being the ‘cartel of the year’, the mano a mano had been absorbing throughout with interesting bulls and a display of both toreros’ finest toreo.
