The matador de toros of 2024 was….. Borja Jiménez. The torero from Espartinas had a break-through performance in 2023 when he cut three ears from victorinos in Madrid’s Feria de Otoño, and then built on this success this year with a string of outstanding performances. He finished 8th in the escalafón, having appeared in 40 festejos in Spain and France.

His temporada began in the important early ferias of Castellón and Valencia. At Castellón, in a highly-anticipated victorinada mano a mano with the local torero Paco Ramos, the bulls disappointed but Borja emerged triunfador with two ears to his name. His Valencia performance, appearing alongside Cayetano and Juan Ortega, resulted in a vuelta and oreja. The next important stop, after puerta grande exits in Hellín and San Clemente, was Sevilla. Although he wasn’t one of the three matadors who left the feria through the Puerta del Príncipe, as I wrote at the time, “the top faena of the series came from Borja Jiménez on April 13. The magic occurred on the sevillano’s own first bull […] - little was achieved with the capote, but Jiménez was able to bring off a superb faena to not just any bull, but a victorino. He produced series of slow, curving, linked, close but aesthetically pleasing muletazos in a stupendous performance. His afternoon with victorinos in Madrid last autumn was spoiled by shallow estocadas at the finish, and the same thing happened here to break the perfection; a cite from very far out led to another estocada tendida, which, although it eventually brought the bull to the ground, reduced the award to a single ear.” Not a strong killer, Jiménez’s practice of citing from some distance away from the bull continued throughout the season.

Following his Otoño success, Borja was contracted for three afternoons in the San Isidro feria. His repeat showing in Madrid with victorinos (a mano a mano with Paco Ureña) featured disappointing bulls, but he cut one ear from his earlier Santiago Domecq corrida in a faena de más a menos before achieving another Las Ventas puerta grande exit on his final afternoon, the June 7 Corrida de la Cultura, cutting an ear from each of his bulls. Indeed, with his last bull, the excellent ‘Dulce’ from Victoriano del Río, the crowd wanted a further ear to be awarded. Jock Richardson wrote on this site: “The faena was one of those that stops the clock and holds everyone either suspended in admiration or on their feet applauding […] My notes are brief because I was suspended, but the word ‘great’ appears again and again, even though I am not easily convinced.”

Now, Borja was the torero everyone wanted to see and the triumphs followed in quick succession - Vera, Istres, Rozas de Puerto Real, Torrejón de Ardoz and Soria. At Pamplona, he cut two ears from his first La Palmosilla, but suffered a cornada grave while killing the animal. An ill-judged appearance to face six victorinos at La Linea de la Concepción just 12 days later saw the sevillano triumph nevertheless, cutting five ears, but it was no surprise that he opted to take more time off to recover from his Pamplona injuries before reappearing at Azpeitia at the start of August.

The summer was a busy one - 20 contracts over August and September - and brought triumphs at Villanueva de Córdoba (victorinos again), Guijuelo, Tarazona de la Mancha, Tarazona, Linares, Cabra, Calatayud, Navalcarnero, Salamanca (twice) and Almodóvar del Campo. But the biggest success in this period came at Bilbao, where he cut three ears from fuenteymbros in a mano a mano with Daniel Luque. Describing one of Borja’s faenas, Jock Richardson enthused once more: “Jiménez was in full control of situation and bull with silken temple, mathematical precision of positioning and movement and an outpouring of personal style and commitment that stopped time […] We had seen a bull of tremendous appearance and toreability with pure Juan Pedro Domecq ancestry meet a man with qualities that could make him a torero de época.”

Borja’s European temporada closed with further afternoons in Sevilla and Madrid, each yielding but a vuelta al ruedo. Once more, killing was the problem, three pinchazos concluding what some described as the best faena of Sevilla’s Feria de San Miguel and two swordthrusts costing him an ear in a dominant mano a mano showing against Fernando Adrián. The Madrid appearance also came despite Jiménez breaking a finger beforehand in a tienta, although the injury meant he opted to pull out of his remaining contracts for the season. Nevertheless, it had been a stupendous 2024. Managed by Julián Guerra but - like all the new wave of promising matadors - generally marginalised from the main carteles, it will be interesting to see with whom he appears in 2025. For my money, this year’s calls for carteles in which Andrés Roca Rey and Daniel Luque should appear together should be replaced next year with a desire to see more paseíllos featuring both Roca Rey and Borja Jiménez. Will the powers-that-be in the mundillo take any notice?

Borja’s Year (2024 Season Review Pt1)

The current Establishment (2024 Season Review Pt2)

Threats to the corrida in France and Mexico