Jock Richardson

Sunday, March 23 2025 - Una gran tarde de toros

No afternoon of bulls is as great as one would like it to be, but this afternoon approached greatness in many ways. They had brought together those three experienced old workmen toreros – 77 years of alternativa between them – Antonio Ferrera, El Fandi and Manuel Escribano, the last desmonterado in the paseíllo. If the aim was to reproduce the corrida de banderilleros of the 1980s popularised by Esplá, Mendes and El Soro, it did not quite come off. But what today’s trio lost in efficiency, they made up for in enthusiasm, goodwill and their own obvious personal enjoyment of the opportunity. They were aided by a corrida of La Quinta bulls that were predominantly noble and encastados and entirely beautiful and in type. Towards the end, I was imagining that we might see a complete encierro of excellent bulls – but that was not to be.

The first bull was a cárdeno claro, a beautiful specimen that entered with a quick-turning focus that demanded the wise, diligent, blue-caped work of Ferrera to bring it under control. The bull obeyed the two cites from a distance to accept its pics. Then started the banderillero show: a cuarteo left placed well past the bull from El Fandi ending tight against the boards; a cuarteo left por afuera placed from between the horns by Escribano; and an accurately placed cuarteo left by Ferrera. I don’t remember the three in the nineties being any better. The show ended with a nice image of three matadors in line saluting the bull a los recortadores. That this was a strong and noble bull was recognised by Ferrera immediately and he decided to get all he could from it. That meant leaning towards quantity rather than quality. Actually, there was not a little quality amongst the quantity. There was also a good deal of walking around, resting the toro, and after the faena descended from immaculate classical pases to pegged derechazos and. naturales, desplantes and pases por alto looking up to the public, he entered directly to place an estocada and was rewarded with an ear.

El Fandi’s welcome to the second was spectacular. His searching verónicas ended with a huge serpentina. This was a second, fine, noble, La Quinta and, after engaging well in two pics taken from huge distances, punctuated with very close chicuelinas, it was still fit to participate in banderillas: big cuarteos and placements behind the horn. El Fandi remained at speed as he enticed the bull into naturales. This bull was noble and very cooperative, and El Fandi was remarkably templado in his long succession of complete derechazos. His kill was vertical but effective and he cut a well-deserved ear.

It is important to mention that we were watching athletic bulls faced with athletic and quick-thinking matadors desperate to please. These showmen have been at it for a long time and know what the public wants.

Escribano’s 502 kilo bull proved that weight is not the arbiter of trapío. Like its two santa coloma brothers, it looked every inch the fighting bull. No wonder they had all been applauded as they entered. This cárdeno claro entered Escribano’s welcoming verónicas willingly in spite of a slightly weak pair of rear legs. Beautifully placed en sitio, it left a light pic readily. On the other hand, its legs apparently recovered, it charged from a distance to persist against two further firm pics. After the third, Ferrera wrapped himself in his bright blue silken cape in fantastic chicuelinas. Then he did a cuarteo to the left ending with a huge jump and an exit over the nearby barrera. This kind of thing is showmanship, it is true, but it is based on courage and technique and is a director of the lidia making things work. After that, El Fandi was single sticking as usual and Escribano got his pair right. This bull was nobility defined, made for a faena of smooth, classically constructed and super-templados pases. And that is what Escribano gave it. No doubt the aficionados exigentes will be cursing these La Quintas tomorrow because they were not like their blood-thirsty relatives who put Román and Borja to the test on Thursday in Valencia. For those who live in the present, they were just fine. The faena was orthodox, complete and serene and just right for length. Escribano had to enter twice to kill, but he had won his ear.

The fourth bull weighed 601 kilos, was cárdeno oscuro and called ‘Ruiseñor’. It accepted Ferrera’s low, slow, verónicas with fixity and temple. The charges from a distance were more spectacular than were the two pics, one firm and one lighter. The two al cuarteos were placed from muy a toro pasado but Ferrera redeemed himself with a perfect pair de poder a poder from an arrogant approach. This bull was a charging machine without a deceitful bone in its body. Ferrera took advantage of its strength, nobility, and endurance to create a long faena of orthodox pases. As it progressed, he indulged in long rest phases with a deal of walking about, but that was not clearly an indication that he thought an indulto was possible. Between the extended lulls, he performed the odd tension-lifting flourish, a low pase here, a molinete there. The petition for an indulto came quickly and from the crowd. The president did not delay for long, avoiding the unpleasant to and fro that usually mars such events, and the orange pañuelo was soon hanging over the balcony. Of the many indultos I have seen, only three met with my approval: the María Luisa Pérez de Vargas in Jaén in 1998 by Rafaelillo; ‘Harinero’ of Fuente Ymbro in Valencia in March 2006 by Miguel Ángel Perera, and ‘Yasmín’ of Fuente Ymbro by Matías Tejela in Mont de Marsan in 2012. ‘Ruiseñor’ of La Quinta by Antonio Ferrera almost added to the group in Castellón in March 2025. For me, the suerte de varas was not as complete as it should have been and the banderillas, apart from the third pair, were nondescript. It could be argued that these deficiencies were created by the human protagonists and did not detract from the bull, but the animal has to be allowed to be excellent in all of the tercios to rate the indulto.

We must wake up from our dreams eventually. The fifth bull skidded in its eagerness to charge, engaged in two pics from well-placed positions before El Fandi placed three pairs, one al violín in a spectacularly tight terrain under the president. He had forgotten that he had a left hand, so the faena was entirely built with derechazos and a coda of manoletinas. There was nothing wrong with the pases in themselves, but his lack of variety was obvious. It was not the faena but the ending with a media estocada that lost him his second ear and a main gate. He was rewarded with saludos.

The black garbanzo of the encierro came last. As it stood at the burladeros with a fixed stare on its entry, there was a suggestion that it might be a focussed toro, but it was soon. Its fixation was for the querencia de las tablas and it spent a good deal of its time in the ring seeking that comfort zone. Escribano is no quitter, and he tried his best to engage the fleeing recalcitrant. It was to no avail and the faena did not last for long.

Monday, March 24 - Cold, damp, rejoneo

I recollect that my headline for this corrida last year was “Heaven for Horse Fans”. All the heavens did today was provide a dark blanket over proceedings and a string of huge black murubes from Fermín Bohórquez that lacked energy and, though laden with nobility, contributed less to the action than they normally do in such events. They gave what they had willingly enough but too soon ended aquerenciada - strangely, four of them in the same place in los tercios in front of la Presidencia – thus leading to repeated failed attempts to place weapons. All three rejoneadores excelled at placing roses into moribund bulls.

Unfortunately, they do not issue programmes with the names of the horses in Castellón and, while it is easy to remember Cartagena’s dark cream horse with the long, flowing mane and tail and the brown equine from which Ventura performs his “Look no reins!” trick, the rest lie as buried in my memory as the Maria Luisa I saw indultado in Jaén in 1998. The white steed with which Duarte effects the kill (badly) reminded me of the horse his relative got killed the year I was ripped off as a budding práctico.

When things do not go well bull-wise with Andy Cartagena, he has a nice turn in crowd milking. Today, he did less of that than he usually does. A horse mounted the estribo once; there was some grotesque genuflection by his mounts in short-distance cites; and the usual banderilla-waving to the crowd. Lyn Sherwood used to spread the myth that the public here are the most exigent in the world. That may have been the case when his ship had safely come to road off Castellón just after WWII, but they are certainly not so now. But it was a cold afternoon, so Andy’s antics did not move them much within their thermals. He killed the first cleanly and just missed an ear. There was little response to his botched kill to his second. He still holds the record for the torero with the most main gates in the history of this plaza, so he will probably be back.

One must always remind oneself of the technicalities when watching rejoneo. The horse should not get touched by the horns; the most meritorious manoeuvre is the placement with the bull’s head at right angles to the stirrup and the rejoneador’s arm parallel to the ground and the weapon vertical after a cite de frente and a placement al quiebro. Placements as described from cuarteos are less meritorious but have merit, nevertheless. Placements deviating from these classical norms are very common and may be evaluated on a downwardly sliding scale. Shows of accomplished horse training – I believe it is called “doma” - are entertaining but are more fitting to the Olympics or Badminton. I am not sure where the mendocina fits in there. While his bulls retained their strength, Ventura did plenty of them. He would take the bull 380 degrees around the ring, inches from the horse’s flank, templando all the while as the crowd was willing him to turn and ride the other way. When he eventually did turn the expulsion of the communal breath and the accompanying “Oooh!” would have put the Reading Scottish Pipe Band (no kidding) playing in the main square to shame. By the time his bulls were exhausted, they were aquerenciados and Ventura was making missed approaches and failed placements far more than is normal with him. The excellent kill to his first won him an ear.

There is a touching greenness about Duarte Fernándes. He is brim full of enthusiasm which he transmits easily to the crowd, and he seriously tries to produce classical manoeuvres. His attitude and clearly developing skills helped him this afternoon and kept the substantial crowd on his side. It won him an ear after a quick-acting rejón to the third and a salute after a failed rejón and a descabello with his second.

Tuesday, March 25 & Wednesday, March 26 - The interesting game of the novilladas sin pics (continued)

Last year, I invited readers to keep their eyes open to see how far the novilleros from this phase of last year’s Magdalena progressed with their careers. I don’t expect any of them did.

The novilleros were:

Fran Fernando – Murcia

Javier Aparicio – Castellón

Pablo Vedrí – Castellón

Abel Rodríguez – Castellón

Bruno Giméno – Valencia

Jorge Hurtado – Badajoz

Arturo Cartagena – Onda

Daniel Antazos – Valencia

Bruno Martínez – Castellón

José Almagro Castellón

Nicolas Cortijo – Albacete

Olga Casado – Madrid

Iain Bermejo - Castellón

Despite the harsh criticism I gave him last year, Javier Aparicio has made strides forward and makes his debut with picadors here on Thursday. Nobody will need reminding of Olga Casado, who is making a firm mark.

This year we saw:

Manuel Quintana – Córdoba

Israel Aparicio – Ciudad Real

Abel Rodríguez – Castellón

Manolo Martínez – Málaga

Iker de Virelio – Castellón

Christian Restrepo – Navas del Rey

An unnamed youth

Daniel Artazos – Valencia

Bruno Martínez – Castellón

Ruiz de Velasco – Palencia

Alejandro González – Albacete

Iain Bermejo – Castellón

Clovis Germain Clovis - Béziers

Abel Rodríquez, Bruno Martínez, Daniel Artazos and Iain Bermejo were all back, which, since they are all local, may mean very little.

The novillos on the Wednesday 25 for the clase práctico were from Sepúlveda, a herd of atanasios refreshed with blood from Sánchez Arjona, Conde de Mayalde and Juan Pedro Domecq. Exactly appropriate in size for schoolboys, they were noble and should have been easy to deal with.

I have spent many years of my life devoted to the education of late male teenagers – just the type of youngster, I presume who enrols in a bullfight school – in controlled social situations. Besides their cheeky good fun, they were thoughtful, ambitious, energetic and ready to do what they were told once they were persuaded that it was to their long-term advantage to do so. It is doubtful that there is a more controlled social situation than a bullfight school. Can it be very difficult to persuade novilleros to obey the novillo that is pleading with them, “Now is the hour of truth, I am ready for the kill” and ignore the cousins, school pals, neighbours, aunties and uncles who are egging them on to more manoletinas, pases de rodillas and aviso, after aviso, after aviso? As Lenny used to say, “Answers on a postcard please.”

Manuel Quintana welcomed his eral with smooth and well-composed verónicas and provided a faena that went from menos a más as he grew in commitment and crossed closer to the line of charge. Things were going very well as he linked pases with each hand in long series. An error that led to his having a flight five feet above the novillo’s head did not deter him and there were more well-constructed single derechazos. But he had to go on and continued to peg pases till the aviso sounded as he placed his estocada. He had turned an ear into saludos.

As Israel Aparicio strode on to la boca del grifo, I revised Santiago López’s chapter on la portagayola in ‘Todos los suertes por sus maestros’ in my head and decided that he was far too far out from the toril. He performed a larga cambiada as perfect as anyone would wish and immediately administered a perfect series of verónicas. Abel Rodríquez extended the symphony with slow, slow, chicuelinas. Aparicio’s wonderful temple was the principal feature of his faena. The novillo was energetic and noble and Aparicio made a faena as varied as it was compact; templados series with each hand, some pases por bajo and trincherillas for carteles. As the novillo weakened, he moved fuera de cacho and into profile. He was tarnishing the lily he had just grown and doing his excellent novillo a disservice. He had been wonderful, but, by the time he had placed his sword so atravesada it exited the animal’s side and three descabellos, the aviso had sounded and he had secured a walking departure.

*Israel Aparicio (image from lanzadigital.com)*

Rodríguez drew a beautiful little burraco in third place and, because of its early distraction, welcomed it with single verónicas that were surprisingly templados. By the time Manolo Martínez drew the novillo round in his quite of close and accurate chicuelinas, it was finding its inner frankness. Rodríguez opened his faena with some huge, long and generous naturales and then – gave a kind of dedication to the public. The engaged little burraco cooperated in some two series of complete, close and perfectly templados derechazos before a similarly convincing series of naturales after an afarolado. Up until now the faena had been wisely constructed, beautifully delivered and just the right length for aficionado, matador and novillo, a precious jewel of a work that would have delighted those convinced that youngsters (and their elders) make their faenas too long. We had to sit through the coda: pegged half pases; desplantes de rodillas; and manoletinas de rodillas to a novillo that would have charged for hours. Eventually, he placed a pinchazo hondo and delantera and many entries for further pinchazos before a final estocada entera and another triumph was wasted.

Manolo Martínez showed his cards early as he welcomed his eral with largas and taffaleras that were spectacular and joined in a convincing series. Iker de Virglio, kept the temperature high with a quite of dominating verónicas. This was another noble and energetic eral and Martínez was too lackadaisical with it for my liking. After a series of derechazos that were cited de frente, linked in huge circular paths and templadissimos, he slipped into profile and continued with a comfortable figura faena. But he was not doing it for me; the public loved it, even when he was eventually caught in some flourishing afarolados. He was awarded two ears.

If Manolo Martínez had just proved to be a pase-pegging maestro, Iker de Virglio from Castellón was bent on following in his footsteps. This was another perky little novillo and participated in a convincing opening of jerky verónicas and chicuelinas, and a lovely quite of gaoneras by Christian Restrepo. A couple of worthy pairs of sticks led on to a faena of laterally pegged pases with much pico, many enganches, and unnecessarily cautious lateral distancing in evidence. There was nothing about this animal that should have given a well-educated neophyte problems. The faena had all but hidden virtues: some of the individual pases were templados and it had a varied component in ayudados por alto and a neat pase del desprecio. It all went on for far too long and ended with an aviso and couple of estocadas en el rincón that not even his compatriots could reward. It is within a matador’s right to take a vuelta if the thinks he deserves it, but that is another lesson youngsters should get: “Don’t take vueltas you have not earned.”

Christian Restrepo welcomed the last (advertised) novillo of the afternoon with some sound controlling verónicas, while Manuel Quintana replied with gaoneras. What’s not to like, but the cold and the fact that we have been sitting in it for well over two hours? The banderilleros demonstrated a remarkable lack of technique as six of the sticks placed ended on the ground. And Christian’s faena was an exhibition of jerky orthodox pases, circulares de rodillas, naturales – some of them serene – enganches and cites for straight line pases from fuera de cacho. The poor benighted band was wrapping up its instruments in both hope and expectation, obviously keen to get home, and a sad unprofitable end to the novillada loomed. When it came, people naturally started to pack up their paraphernalia.

There had been an announcement at the beginning of the event that I could not decipher. Our neighbours assured us that we were to get a seventh performance. We never found out who the poor wee lad, who had been dressed up in an immaculate traje de luces and presented with a calf was. Nor were we told from where his eralito came. What we did learn was that he was not yet properly prepared for the test and that nobody honest would have given tuppence – actually we had been let in free – for watching him being chased around the ring by an animal he did not understand. Ho Hum! It was a repeat of the Marco Pérez fiasco with the Talavante in his specially prepared clase práctico two years ago and we know where that got him! Your reporter can tell you what he saw and what he thinks of it; he cannot forecast the future.

On the Wednesday, Bruno Martínez, Daniel Artazos, and Iain Bermejo were all back from last year, the two former having moved up a grade and Iain Bermejo in the sin pics again.

Daniel Artazos was up first. The erales were from Hermanas Angoso Clavijo, an Asociación herd of Garcia Jiménez, that is of Juan Pedro descent, the ganadería that had supplied the erales for the same unpicced novillada last year. Artazos was on his knees from the start with a larga cambiada in which he lost his cape At least his five verónicas and a media were neat and controlling. He performed a kind of afarolado with his arms crossed behind his head that I have never seen, and do not remember from José Luis Ramón’s classes or any book I have ever read. The bronco novillo went well for the banderilleros and Artazos put life and soul into a faena that was pleasing in parts but left rather a sour taste at the end. The opening phase of two series of derechazos and naturales was beautifully composed, the pases long, linked and en redondo, Artazos clearly in control. That was really it. The valenciano slipped fuera de cacho, the pases became increasingly distant, his lure was snatched from his hand several times, the pases de rodillas took over in single spies and in battalions, and he took an age to align the bull before an estocada a un tiempo, and three descabellos as the aviso sounded.

Bruno Martínez welcomed his neat little chorreado en castaño with a hugely successful larga cambiada a portagayola. After losing his cape in some initial pedestrian lances, he performed five excellently cited chicuelinas marred by the fact that he did not give them more than flapped endings. The foreboding ugliness was relieved by Velasco’s reply with perfectly clean and complete pases of the same ilk. The novillo was not toreado and ran off wildly out of control before the peones caught it and created a precise suerte de banderillas. It was clear that we were doomed to another curate’s egg of a faena. There were two perfectly complete series of derechazos ended with pases por alto midst a veritable soup of pases de rodillas, pases enganchados. In my notes, the word “great” is applied to several series with each hand but the large “pero” of rough passes, enganches, desplantes de rodillas, and disarmings loomed over all. That is a great pity because the considerable potential of Artazos is plain to see. Time and opportunity will tell.

Ruiz de Velasco is tall, tentative and, when in control of himself and the novillo, nicely formal and classical, a budding torero de Castille perhaps. It took him ages to engage with his novillo, but when he did, it was to compose a brief and structured faena of exactly the kind that this – probably biased - reporter approves: the kind that reminds him of faenas by Julio Robles; El Juli; Manolo Sánchez, and the riojano Diego Urdiales, for example. As the faena unfolded, it comprised series with each hand cited from de frente en el frente, the lure offered forward and the pases linked in beautiful series. There were few frills – pases por bajo, especially trincheras and trincherillas, por altos to end series and, once, a perfect cambio de mano. What a pity it was that he felt he had to try ornate but unsuitable pases de rodillas to end, drawing the event on to a non-fatal estocada and a long, long, wait till the aviso sounded.

A bandaged Ruiz de Velasco (seen here in Bilbao when he won the Memorial Iván Fandiño Certamen - image from BMF)

Alejandro González seemed insecure in his early lances to the third, he scarcely offering serious cape work. Iain Bermejo brought things on to track with a neat little quite of chicuelinas, complete from cites to remates. Aleandro was so keen not to cross into the danger area that it was a small miracle that his pases were so clean, smooth and comforting. Cautiously, he stayed fuera de cacho, skilfully used the pico and ran the novillo past him in straight lines. There was a good deal of this, and Alejandro indicated by his body language that he thought he was doing quite well. Had he listened to the relatively silent acceptance of his work by the audience, he might have thought differently. But no; he continued to use the docile nobility of the novillo to continue his recital of how not to touch hearts and minds. He – it was inevitable – placed an effective estocada and was awarded an ear. A sustained recital of clean pases is better than nothing.

Ian Bermejo was back; I presume the many programmes and fliers shared the problem of all parents who wish to give their son that name. Do we use the genuinely Scottish/Gaelic version or use the easy to remember anglicised version? It is to be supposed that his countrymen did not give a damn what he was called as he strode to la portagayola and welcomed his eral with three long, clean, entirely successful largas cambiada de rodillas before a flurry of verónicas ended with a revolera. It was a welcome explosion. Last year, I blogged how he had spent his faena dragging wild pases from a weak and exhausted calf. He did not have a problem of that nature this year: his eral was as enthusiastic as he was. The animal obliged by obeying Bermejo’s properly constructed series - just enough to show he can torear if he chooses - and variously catching, tossing, and kicking him and his equipment all over the sand when he did not choose. His compatriots, relatives and school pals loved it, and so did he. He placed his sword to end and flew out of the encounter into the award of an ear, a vuelta and most of the flowers in the Levant. Phew!

Clovis was not ready for a demanding afternoon such as the Hnas Angoso Clavijo erales offered. He obviously wants to be a torero largo, and after some smooth early verónicas, he took up his own sticks. Two of the eight he was allowed to place fell out from encounters that were mighty regulares. The faena was a mixture of right and left-handed pases performed with completeness and temple, a few of them but promising, and a descent into peg-and-trot-away single pases using the pico to keep the eral clear. Frustratingly for the ever-hopeful aficionado, some of his pases were complete, dominating and beautiful.

Our aperitif to four significant events had been fit to prepare out palates for the potentially substantial dish to follow.

Thursday, March 27 - Novillos and novilleros in various stages of preparation

The picced novillada of Magdalena 2025 featured six José Ignacio Pérez Tabernero novillos of Montalvo of neat presentation, noble temperament and sufficient strength to sustain the lidia. Javier Zulueta, son of one of the alguacilillos in the Maestranza de Sevilla, who has served his apprenticeship in a range of novilladas and has already shown himself ready for his looming alternativa, was second in last year’s escalafón; Cristian González was 10th, having had, on average, very similar trophy success to that of Zulueta; and Javier Aparicio, the local novillero, was making his debut with picadors.

The first good-looking montalvo set the scene for an encierro of noble character veiled by a thin but demanding covering of challenges. Javier Zulueta has been toreando with picadors for just a year; it seems to me that he should be more than ready for the alternativa for which he is acartelado in the Sevilla feria de San Miguel at the end of this temporada. His early verónicas were enganchados, but the close walking chicuelinas taking the novillo to sitio were as beautiful as they were precise. The novillo did not engage with the horse and wandered distractedly into some rough verónicas. This demanding novillo had two sides to its character for it charged the banderilleros with enthusiasm. The faena started with a pase por alto with Zulueta seated on the estribo and two derechazos por bajo, a pleasing taurine image. Then things took off in six frontally cited derechazos that were linked, templados and unified. There were many enganches in the next series, but Zulueta was soon encouraging the novillo into series of clean pases with each hand in which the catchings of the lure grew fewer. Overall, the classical outweighed the careless and the novillo was captivated. By the end, the audience was as convinced as the novillo. The youth was so engrossed in the work that he missed the golden moment, and the seconds ticked away in flourishing high pases. The estocada, when it came, was tendida but did not prevent the award of a generous ear.

Zulueta’s enthusiastic and erratic toreo – erratic, I think, because of his enthusiasm – continued in his work to the fourth novillo, a distracted manso of little energy. It took a first, huge, pic willingly enough, and was so positive in the second act that the peones had to accept salutes. After a welcome of doblones – long, authoritative, and templados – the faena unfolded even more cleanly and beautifully crafted than the first had done. Only once did he let his focus drift and he was tumbled by his alert adversary. Unscathed, he proceeded to perform pure toreo of great quality. He ended the faena with an estocada to win a second ear and the main gate.

The second novillo charged willingly into Cristian González’s serene opening verónicas. It looked large for its 481 Kg and proved to be another excellent specimen. The early work with the left hand, classical pases sewn together in flowing series, was only marred when González failed to stay in harmony with the novillo and the pair of enthusiasts lost touch with each other. His location of the proper cite distance for the successful series was unerring. Unfortunately, he was drunk with toreo by now and had started to throw nice but unnecessary manoletinas and por altos de rodillas at the exhausted, but still willing, novillo. This allowed a brilliant faena to stretch beyond its sell-by date: it took poor Cristian a pinchazo delantero, an estocada muy atravesada, an estocada entera, and 11 descabellos to turn triumph into tears.

*Cristian González (image from guadanews.es)*

With the fifth novillo, González set out to please and his histrionic toreo pleased many. It was difficult not to be positive about his spectacular opening larga cambiada de rodillas and artistic verónicas. The ugliness of the snatched remates to his lances was noticed by few. Violent rushing – the novillo was as wild as the matador was – featured throughout what followed: a kind of stew comprising well-constructed classical pases mixed with random frivolities done so spectacularly that hearts were kept racing. The band, an outstanding contributor to this feria, launched into ‘Nerva’ with as much enthusiasm as González and the montalvo. Such generosity of spirit tends to hide flaws. González ended with a recital of circulares that exhausted the novillo and made the kill difficult: a metisaca and an estocada. He had not been perfect; he had not defrauded.

“Javier Aparicio from Castellón has a long way to go. His cape and muleta were repeatedly caught, he maintained a huge linear distance between him and the docile, beautifully endowed with atanasio accidentals, novillo.”

That was last year. He still has a long way to go, and now he has risen to the ranks of the novilleros where the going is tough. His first was a lovely negro mulato chorreado montalvo and the novillero was positive as he welcomed it with serene and templados verónicas: a fine start. He lost the novillo, though, and it was left to derribar the guardian of the gate without human interference. It worked hard at a firm pic from the lead picador and Zulueta made the rescue with impressive chicuelinas. The novillo raised further confidence as it cooperated in a fine second suerte, immediately lowering it as it sought the boards. Probably confused by the novillo’s behaviour, Aparicio reverted to type, maintained himself at a considerable lateral distance from the animal and performed what may generously be called flaps with his muleta for a good 10 minutes. Two pinchazos and an estocada ended his unpromising debut with picadores.

The sixth bull somersaulted before the varas, damaged a leg, and was taken out. Aparicio welcomed the substitute with some clean itinerant verónicas. It charged in for a roughly-placed but fierce, long-lasting pic. This was a mighty strong novillo and it charged positively to take two more merciless pics and then for three pairs of banderillas. The faena was even more erratic than had been Aparicio’s last one: pases more distant, more pico-laden; more enganchados. But this lad is from Castellón and was taught in the local taurine school. His supporters were uniformly favourable and wanted him to do well. They were perfectly content and, had he killed properly, might have overlooked his flaws. He did not kill properly, and he did not win the ear.

Friday, March 28 - La Corrida de Arte

The Frailes had sent an interesting lot of bulls for una corrida de arte that was meant to feature José María Manzanares, Juan Ortega and Pablo Aguado. Manzanares did not come; he was hors de combat with a wound. His place was taken by that sound old workman torero Miguel Ángel Perera, not normally associated with artistic toreo. There were four Puerto de San Lorenzo Atanasio-Lisardo Sánchez bulls and two Juanpedros from La Ventana del Puerto.

Perera took his first, erratically-charging, Puerto de San Lorenzo, into sometimes smooth, sometimes enganchadas, verónicas. The bull was still erratic after a moderate pic which Perera soon had stopped. The bull had weak legs; that did not prevent a spectacular quite of a circular verónica, a tight media verónica and a recorte in quick succession. There were three well-placed banderillas before the action took a radical turn. A series of circulares persuaded the bull that it would not be disadvantaged by following the lure. From then on it was a journey from menos a más. Perera built a faena of classical pases with a now cooperative bull that was compact, clean and cohesive. As is his wont, Perera moved gradually into his arrimón of tight circulares in both directions, luquesinas and cambios de mano. He aligned the bull with carefully-completed low left-hand pases and killed with a three-quarters sword thrust as the aviso sounded. It had been a faena full of merit.

The fourth bull was another atanasio. It stumbled on exit from its single light pic. Perera often signals that he wants his bulls to arrive but little weakened at the muleta; he did that here. The quite of verónicas and saltilleras was inspired, and when Perera dedicated to the public, the omni-present El Soro grabbed the opportunity and his trumpet to sound his clarion call. The faena was typical Perera and none the worst for that. He proceeded in the vertical style, weaving the bull round him in clearly linked series. The bull was less smooth with its left horn, but he enticed it into rhythmical charges on that more demanding side also. He went on and on in dizzying phases, way beyond the moment of truth so that, when he did kill, he needed two pinchazos and an estocada. He was awarded an ear for which the adjective “cheap” was accurate. Still, he had worked hard and well to earn it.

Juan Ortega drew a La Ventana del Puerto in second place. He took it to the horse abaniqueando, and it fiercely spun the equine round. It but lightly engaged with the second pic and charged well for two and a half pairs of sticks. It was a strong and noble bull. There was a single series before this famed expert of the muleta produced a faena of pases enganchados with each hand. There were few of them and he killed with an estocada off a curve. By any standard it had been poor stuff.

The fifth bull, an atanasio, led to different things. It was welcomed with some very flat verónicas of infinitive temple The media verónica at the end was exquisite. The bull engaged with its pic but stumbled on exit, always a worrying event when it happens. That the bull was fine became obvious as Ortega treated us to the kind of great toreo only true artists can summon up. It was brief, based on low orthodox pases in series with each hand and decorative work performed with technique and flair: long, low doblones, low circular derechazos in both directions and trincherillas, molinetes, a pase de la firma. It all ended with a half estocada that drew blood from the mouth. It had been relaxed, natural exquisite, and varied. Few can have grudged him the two ears.

Pablo Aguado drew a Ventana del Puerto in third place. It was no surprise that his low, smooth, welcoming verónicas were super-templados; this man can be temple personified. The bull hit the horse by accident and left it readily. It was erratic in its movements and tried to run out of the lances. Still, it leaned for a while at the second pic and accepted the punishment. There was little to be done with this distracted bull, and Pablo Aguado was not the man to do it. His faena comprised pase-and-trot single pases with many enganches, many of them using the pico to ensure safety, with just one single uplifting molinete in the middle. It took a pinchazo, a metisaca, a pinchazo, and five descabellos to kill. There is no water in a dry well and Aguado should have realised that early in the faena.

He had better luck with the atanasio in sixth place. His opening verónicas were clean, but, as man and bull parted, they both seemed insecure. The bull attacked the horse wildly for a strong pic and the chicuelinas of the quite went well until the bull grew rough in its charges and the man lost more confidence. The peones did well to place three pairs into this unfocussed animal. Aguado was to glean what he could from it, and he did it with great skill, pleasing variety and a strong burst of toreo puro. Above all, he caught the rhythm of the bull in pases templados in linked series. The ligazón was breathtaking and the molinetes appropriate decoration. Towards the end, the bull’s charges had shortened, so the pases became staccato. Moreover, Aguado fiddled around for too long in the alignment phase. Still, his estocada was of prompt effect and won him an ear.

Saturday, March 29 - Toros in a storm

By lunchtime, it was clear that a windstorm was on its way, the trees in the Old Casino Garden and the Ribalta Park bending grotesquely in its force. This was to be a corrida of past triunfadores. The bulls of Santiago Domecq had done well here last year and Tomás Rufo also did well. Of Daniel Luque little needs to be said; he is at the top of the taurine tree, and it seems that a hurricane will be needed to dislodge him.

The first colorado claro charged into Luque’s lavish testing welcome of mid-height right-handed lances. The bronco behaviour of the bull made proper piccing impossible. The three chicuelinas and low media verónica made a successful quite. Despite the gale, Luque threw everything he had into controlling bull, muleta and geography. The animal charged honestly into some low derechazos templados that segued beautifully on to naturales. The bull turned quickly, but only walked into each pase. This rendered the so much sought-after luquesinas uninspired. He kept control of the lure in an entry for an estocada entera of perfect execution to loud applause.

The third bull was a rather handsome burraco – these Santiago Domecqs are a Juan Pedro Domecq, Carlos Núñez and ‘Torrestrella’ mixture and often reflect their origins in their coats. Luque kept his eyes on the horns as he passed them by in his early lances, a picture of torería. The left horn hit the peto in the only pic the bull took - with little commitment. The quite of close perfectly-constructed chicuelinas was as clock-stopping as it was beautiful. The raging wind seemed to trouble Luque and the bull not a whit. As he strode to dedicate to the crowd, the bull charged and nearly caught him. A dazzling series of naturales sent the crowd to its feet and the man from the huerta keeping them there with his now familiar trumpet call. The toro was not easy: it was ever on the alert to catch Luque unawares, and it turned very quickly. That did not prevent a compact, perfectly constructed, faena: a series of naturales joined to one of derechazos; a similar sequence with one of those typical Luque cambios de mano that one can miss if not concentrating; and more dominating naturales, drawing the head ever lower. The kill, with a directly entered and promptly effective estocada, ended a faena that had lasted for exactly the correct length of time. The appeal for two ears was unanimous.

The black Santiago Domecq in fifth place was focussing on the man from the start, so there was no substantive opening cape work. It was nicely placed en sitio and, after a short charge, lifted horse and rider high into the air as if they were a fairground helium-filled balloon. This cunning toro chased everything in its field of view and the peones and even the maestro Luque behaved with extreme caution. He soon took the sword and killed with two pinchazos and an estocada.

On the many occasions I have seen Tomás Rufo – boy, youth and man – I can only remember one occasion on which he did not cut an appendix: he is a very successful and reliable torero. As he strode out to welcome his first bull, he was at the heart of a dense upwardly-swirling pillar of paper shreds and sand. He had his work cut out. The greeting of two largas cambiadas de rodillas was surprisingly successful, as was the series of controlled verónicas and a media verónica performed in the eye of the storm. One pic and three well-placed pairs of banderillas led to circulares performed with Rufo’s incredible temple; they drew the bull around him through 1200 degrees. That the man could catch the rhythm of the bull and build a faena of linked and templados pases, peppered with adornos such as ayudados por alto and manoletinas, was heartwarming. There was the odd enganche, but the abiding feeling was that the faena would have been perfect without the abuse heaped upon it by the wind. That Rufo could torear so well in such circumstances was unbelievable. The crowd recognised the fact by, after a brilliant estocada, rewarding him with an ear.

The fourth bull was a colorado claro, berrendo, and axiblanco. It was bronco in its movements and went roughly to its first pic. The three chicuelinas and the afarolado of the quite defied the nodding head of the bull and the ferocity of the gale in their silken serenity. Rufo found a stiller place in los tercios and started the faena with calculated, domineering, naturales, ended with a molinete and a chest pase. It seemed quite right in the circumstances. There was more of the same, the bull always on the lookout for an error. He lined up as the aviso sounded and took two medias estocadas, a pinchazo, an estocada and a descabello to lose at least one ear.

The sixth bull took a moderate pic and three brilliantly-executed pairs of banderillas before its extremely weak legs became obvious. That situation and the damaging, dangerous, wind sealed the fate of the man, the bull and the faena. Rufo tried to find a quiet place – there was none – and grew increasingly unsure. He was wise and finished with an estocada.

Windstorms are not uncommon in the Levant during the era of las Fallas and la Magdalena and I have seen a few. This was the fiercest I have seen during my 25 years in the bullrings of the region. To watch two relatively young matadors torear exigent bulls with courage, skill, selflessness and commitment in such circumstances omens well.

Sunday, March 30 - Morante de la Puebla and others

I met a friend again years after we had been first introduced. We knew each other well enough by then to have controversial conversations without ending them with insult, acrimony or fisticuffs. He reminded me how I had reacted when we first met to his attitude to Curro Romero by saying, “He who does not understand the phenomenon of Curro Romero does not understand la Fiesta Brava.” I still believe that, and I also believe that, “He who does not understand the phenomenon of Morante de la Puebla does not understand La Fiesta Brava.” No matter how hard I try, and I do not try very hard because to do so is a waste of time, I cannot persuade his detractors that he is not a fraud; that he cannot possibly set out intentionally to defraud those who pay to see him; is brave in the bullring and in his battle with mental health problems; and can be a very great taurine artist and an extremely accomplished torero.

The good people of Castellón came to the plaza today in greater numbers than on any other day of the feria; they cheered Morante to the echo in the paseíllo; and demanded that he accept their sincere ovation in the tercios of the ring before the corrida started. I would wager that not a cheering soul had the word, “fraud, “coward” or “sinvergüenza” in their minds.

The first Juan Pedro was burraco, axiblanco, corrido. Morante performed smooth, low, verónicas that were very, very, slow, with a single, slight enganche. The bull was off when they ended, to tackle the reserve picador and his mount in a fierce battle. Morante’s quite was of chicuelinas - close, tight and very, very, slow. The bull went to the picador de turno and pushed enthusiastically in its second pic. It was just as enthusiastic for three accurately placed pairs of banderillas. The faena started with pases por alto and por bajo. a trincherazo and a pase de las flores. It is easy to write these things, but impossible to convey the technical accuracy, timing, grace, artistry and sheer beauty imparted to them by Morante’s genius. What came next was just as indescribable. A series of linked, controlled derechazos, followed by a slow, low trincherazo, showcased his taurine skills. Some opening flourishes, two series of derechazos, a quick alignment and an estocada were just what was required. The president did not know what he had seen or had not bothered to watch it. He ignored the petition for an ear. The saludos were resounding and sincere.

Morante’s second toro lumbered into the arena to midheight verónicas of little lustre. The final recorte was inspired. It was taken to the horse with gentle waves of the cape, and it persisted for long under the iron before charging into three pairs of sticks. There was a molinete from which Morante tripped and out of which the bull ran away. A few naturales and derechazos must have persuaded Morante that to go on with this animal would be to defraud the public. He went for the sword and killed with a pinchazo and an estocada. There was no bronca now or in the final exit.

Sébastien Castella is a frequent visitor here. He made a tentative start with his first, an unfocussed toro that tended to escape from any engagement with man or lure. It wandered off out of its first pic and attacked the reserve picador. Things went upwards in banderillas with three surprisingly fine pairs. Castella tried a pase por alto at the boards, but the bull paid no attention to the lure. This bull had little to give; Castella noticed the fact and dispatched it quickly.

The fifth bull was the kind of bull the Domecqs spent years trying to create: strong, noble, focussed, aggressive, sparky of character and durable to death. Castella gave it a varied and interesting welcome with verónicas, chicuelinas and recorte. The bull leaned against the horse without much enthusiasm, but charged into a quite of verónicas with verve. Two well-placed pairs of sticks led to a typical Castella introduction to a faena: derechazos and pases de espaldas close to the barrera. The content and structure of the faena would be difficult to fault: built on linked naturales and derechazos, Castella always in control, the cite position and distance unerringly discovered and the pases templados and extended, it was a demonstration of masterly toreo. But this was the Castella of before his sabbatical: competent, predictable and very routine. It could have had more chispa, more heart. Even the manoletinas spoke of workman rather than artist. He killed with a textbook estocada. Most of the audience had not, as this reporter had done, been watching Castella doing this sort of thing since he was a sin-pics novillero in Bayona in 1997. They gave him two ears and the main gate.

Alejandro Talavante is not a man to be called routine. He usually elevates his toreo with flamboyant adornos that both excite and surprise. There was some of that in the tafalleras and largas of his quite to the first and a few manoletinas with which he ended the faena before placing a pinchazo and an estocada. Overall, the whole event exuded a feeling of ennui, not a good sign at the beginning of the temporada. Maybe Talavante was just having an off day. The last bull did not help him to shine any more than had his first. That it was soft in the front legs was proven when it fell under the horse. There were faint sparks in the opening molinete and trincherillas to start the faena, but, despite the perfect structure and classical content of the faena and a little verano de San Miguel of naturales and pases por alto that warmed up the crowd towards the end, the Feria de La Magdalena 2025 had fallen into the sere, into the yellow leaf.

Taking it all in, it had been a week of interest and not a little success: the indulto of the La Quinta; a puerta grande every day; faenas to remember; an army of beginners; and many fine toros from a range of bloodlines. Gerente Alberto Ramírez and his team had done well.

Castellón’s Feria de la Magdalena

Jock Richardson

Remembering how bullrings were used in Spain’s Civil War

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