A wide open Copa Chenel
It’s probably more difficult than ever to pick a likely Copa Chenel winner given the selection of 18 matadors for this year’s competition.
Six of the participants only became matadores de toros in the past year. García Pulido (23), from Castillo de Bayuela (Toledo), took the alternativa in last year’s Valdemorillo feria, cutting an ear, and appeared twice more during the season, confirming his alternativa during San Isidro and going out on shoulders after winning four ears at Roa de Duero in August. Jorge Molina (25), another toledano from Torrijos, became a matador at Madridejos in September, cutting two ears and going out on shoulders alongside Morenito de Aranda and Álvaro Lorenzo: he had one more corrida in his birthplace, but only received ovations. Germán Vidal El Melli (21), from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, won an ear in his final novillada in Sevilla’s La Maestranza before taking the alternativa from Andrés Roca Rey in his home town last June, when he cut two ears. He fought one more bull at Puebla de Don Rodrigo (Ciudad Real) in August, receiving applause.
Álvaro Burdiel
Sergio Rodríguez (24), from Lerma (Burgos), became a matador at Ávila last April, winning three ears, and had three more corridas, the most successful his most recent, at San Bartolomé de Pinares (Ávila) in August, when he cut four ears and a tail from Yerbabuena bulls. Alejandro Peñaranda (22), from Iniesta (Cuenca), went out on shoulders alongside Sebastián Castella and Borja Jiménez on the day of his alternativa at Tarazona de la Mancha last August, then fought a successful mano a mano with Samuel Navalón at Munera (Albacete). The newest matador is Álvaro Burdiel (26), from Sevilla but a student at Madrid’s ‘El Yiyo’ escuela taurina, who took the alternativa from Sebastián Castella in October at Las Rozas (Madrid), cutting three ears.
Carlos Olsina
Then there are seven matadors with more than one temporada with toros bravos under their belts, although that may not be saying much in terms of their corrida numbers. Álvaro Alarcón, like Molina from Torrijos, was announced as a Copa Chenel participant last year, only for injury to rule him out of the competition. He took the alternativa from El Juli at Las Ventas in May 2023, and has fought in four corridas since, with pretty lacklustre results. Ecuadorian David Garzón took the alternativa from Miguel Ángel Perera at Ambato (Ecuador) in February 2023 and has had just three corridas since. After coming up through capeas, Francisco Montero, from Chiclana, became a matador at Orthez (France) in 2022 with Monteviejo bulls, winning an ear. Emotional and unorthodox, he’s appeared in nine corridas since - just two of which were last year - tending to be put on with toros duros. Frenchman Carlos Olsina, from Béziers, took the alternativa at Istres in 2022 and has appeared in seven more corridas since, all in France, his most successful afternoon involving the indulto of a Robert Margé bull at Béziers in 2023. Ruiz Muñoz, from Puerto Real (Cádiz) and a great-nephew of Curro Romero, has had an up-and-down career as a torero involving some seven seasons as a novillero con picadores before taking the alternativa at Requena (Valencia) towards the end of the 2021 temporada. He had a reasonably successful season of nine corridas in 2022, but then just three corridas in 2023 and one last year. The Portuguese João Silva Juanito has been a matador since 2019 and is the most experienced in this grouping: he had seven more corridas that year; four in 2020; eight in 2021; 13 in 2022 (including an unsuccessful confirmación in Madrid); seven in 2023; but just four last season. Daniel Crespo, from El Puerto de Santa María, is a particularly interesting entrant. He took the alternativa from Morante de la Puebla in his home ring in 2018, going out on shoulders, and looked promising over the next two temporadas. A disappointing 2021 saw him secure just one opportunity in 2022, in a six-matador corrida at Bayonne, but the following year he triumphed in all three of his corridas, including two with figuras in his home town, only for 2024 to be an incomprehensible blank sheet in terms of contracts.
Oliva Soto
The rest of the field comprises five veteranos. The longest standing matadors are Rubén Pinar, from Tobarra (Albacete) and Oliva Soto, from Camas (Sevilla), both of whom took the alternativa 17 years ago. Pinar was once on the main feria circuit, but fell off that roundabout some time ago and - despite some seasons trying to become a regular with toros duros - never recovered. Soto never got that far, chalking up the occasional success. He had a strong season in 2023, cutting 12 ears from four corridas, but will be hoping that his 2024 two-ear triumph in the Sevilla autumn festival in homage to Curro Romero will be the springboard to greater things. A promising novillero, the madrileño Fernando Tendero became a matador in 2010. Apart from 2013, he has fought in every year since, but has never managed more than four corridas per season. Portuguese Nuno Casquinha took the alternativa in 2011 after six seasons as a novillero con picadores and, according to mundotoro, has had no professional contracts since 2021. Lastly, Sergio Flores (who took the alternativa at Bayonne in 2012) has been considered one of Mexico’s leading matadors, but, since 2018, has an odd European history of appearances in France, frequently managing one of two corridas there per season, often facing toros duros, which do not suit his artistic style.
Sergio Flores
Asked on the Copa Chenel website to pick their likely winner, Gonzalo Bienvenida has opted for Jorge Molina, Manuel Valera for García Pulido and Carmelo López for Sergio Flores. This writer reckons Rubén Pinar stands a good chance providing his heart is in it, while Daniel Crespo’s prospects shouldn’t be discounted either. The competition kicks off on March 1, when Oliva Soto, Álvaro Alarcón and Sergio Rodríguez will face bulls of Montealto and Montecillo at San Agustín de Guadalix. The two finals (one for three matadors: the second a mano a mano) will be held at Valdetorres de Jarama on July 5 (with bulls of Adolfo Martín and Cuadri) and 6 (when the fare will be bulls of Victoriano del Río, Zacarías Moreno and Concha y Sierra). Other ganaderías of interest taking part in the competition are Flor de Jara, Cerro Longo, Condessa de Sobral, Ana Romero and Baltasar Ibán. All the corridas will be televised by Telemadrid.