Santander, July 25: Morante and Urdiales delight in a corrida del arte
What a contrast between yesterday’s Pedraza corrida in Mont de Marsan and today’s corrida of Juan Pedro Domecq bulls at Santander! Yesterday, the toreros had a real challenge on their hands: today, the task was more one of nursemaiding, of producing artistic passes whilst sustaining the animals’ fast-fading strength. And who better to do this than Morante de la Puebla and Diego Urdiales?
Morante’s first suspiciously-horned juanpedro was given trademark verónicas before and after a heavy puyazo, while Juan José Trujillo placed some splendid sticks. Come the faena, however, the bull was knackered; Morante gave it one or two notable passes, but basically there was nothing doing. Morante ended the faena with cutting passes, the crowd whistling, and killed with two estocadas al encuentro and a half sword, all delivered running round the animal. The bull received pitos en arrastre, while there was a division of opinions over its matador.
His second animal, a jabonero and the best of today’s encierro, received largas as a greeting before participating in a long and superb tanda of verónicas. The faena, whilst lacking structure and taking place all over the ring, was very good indeed. Often, the bull would charge unexpectedly at Morante, who would then find some way of accommodating it before going on to have it partner him in series of passes. There was a unique Morante mix of old and modern toreo. One got the impression that the matador was playing with the bull and thoroughly enjoying himself, to the extent that Lili had to run out with the estoque to make the point that the time to kill the bull had been reached. Morante then killed strongly, the sword being well-placed and having virtually immediate effect. The crowd demanded, and got, two ears (I felt the performance had merited one), Morante and his cuadrilla then embarking on a long and good-natured vuelta.
While a section of the crowd was protesting the second juanpedro that came into the ring, Diego Urdiales gave it a series of brilliant verónicas and led it to the centre of the arena. The bull entered twice to the picador as, on its first entry, it lifted the horse high and the picador was unable to secure a puyazo. Urdiales performed a quite of chicuelinas and went on to produce some lovely passes in the faena, particularly on the bull’s right horn, though this was an animal that was tiring early and wanting the tablas. In the end, that was where Diego killed it with a superb estocada, earning an ear.
Another ear came the riojano’s way on his second bull, greeted with verónicas, a chicuelina and revolera, with further beautiful verónicas following after the merest touch of a puyazo. Yet another excellent faena from Urdiales followed a brindis to the tendidos. Despite the careful treatment given to the bull throughout its lidia, it soon appeared dead on its feet, its legs wobbling and causing it to sit. Once it had been enticed back on its feet, all that remained was to kill it, but Diego experienced enormous difficulty lining it up as, each time, those legs started wobbling again… In the end, he went over the horns for another solid estocada and earned the right to accompany Morante on shoulders through Santander’s Puerta Grande at the corrida’s close.
One of the taurine websites described this afternoon as a good Santander debut for Juan Ortega. However, it was nothing of the sort, as once again the sevillano showed some promise but failed to triumph. Faced with a weak-footed first bull, Ortega could only manage isolated passes as the animal had insufficient strength for linked tandas. The estocada was executed well, though, and a minority petition resulted. His other juanpedro, the heaviest of the day at 584 kilos, was given a punishing time en varas and once again the faena consisted of single passes, the cloth caught on several of them, and, after a couple of warnings from the bull, Ortega opted to cut things short.