Santander, July 20: Adverse conditions
The day had gone well. The Crowdstrike IT outage that had led to flights being cancelled the day before showed no signs of reoccurring at Gatwick; the heat hit you as you left the plane at Bilbao airport; and the sea was incredibly flat and calm as the coach journeyed in brilliant sunshine along the coast towards Santander. A couple of hours later, however, as the Feria de Santiago’s opening novillada was about to get underway, the sky was grey and the wind was getting up. Despite the forecasts, was rain on the way?
The unprepared spectators (myself included) got the answer towards the end of the lidia of the second novillo when rain began to fall. By then, we’d had two faenas from Samuel Navalón, the valenciano having to take over from Marco Pérez on this second animal after the youngster was caught nastily during a quite of gaoneras and was carried off to the infirmary.
Navalón annoys me. Here is a perfectly good torero who spoils his act with frippery and crowd-pleasing antics that have nothing to do with the lidia. His mincing, bottom-waggling, walk was in place from the paseíllo. Then, as the torilero waited to open the gate for the first Casasola novillo, we had some deliberate, slow, ostentatious toreo de salón from the novillero, alone in the ring, before he decided it was time to walk across the ring for a reception a portagayola.
The suerte went well enough and was followed by some aesthetically pleasing verónicas, although there was a near cogida when Navalón returned to his knees at the end. The unprepossessing bull, after going through the motions of a single vara, proved weak-footed and twice twisted its neck after digging its horns into the sand. Navalón is sufficiently confident in his prowess that he tends to ignore the animal in front of him, so the faena got sillier as it went on, the novillero being very nearly caught twice, culminating in Samuel opting to throw the muleta away in a kneeling desplante before his foe. There were bernadinas to close, then a bajonazo, the presidente weakening this televised feria’s standing by then awarding an ear from a minority petition and the crowd joining in by giving undeserved applause to the novillo en arrastre.
Navalón’s disregard for his novillos was once again on display in the following faena (dedicated to the injured Pérez). After starting on his knees, he got to his feet for further muletazos only to get badly tossed himself. He killed with a pinchazo and estocada to silence as the tendido spectators headed for cover.
For by now, the rain was coming down in earnest. I joined in the general emptying of the tendidos and ended up watching the rest of the corrida from the andanadas. Javier Zulueta drew an invalid novillo that should have been returned to the corrales, although his careful, slow muletazos gradually brought the initially protesting spectators round. A pinchazo and a shallow estocada led to an aviso and palmas.
The bulk of Zulueta’s performance had taken place during a really heavy downpour and I fully expected the novillada to be suspended at the midway point, even Santander’s arena, known for its drainage qualities, being a complete quagmire by then. Surprisingly, the toreros opted to continue, and it was Navalón’s willingness to perform – beginning with another greeting a portagayola - despite slipping and falling twice trying to bring off trincherazos; the quality of his muletazos in a faena de más a menos; and a good estocada that brought shouts of “Torero! Torero!” from the crowd and its successful urging for two ears to be awarded.
There was further applause when the diminutive Marco Pérez (when is this lad going to put on some height?) emerged to face the fifth novillo. His day had begun with a cogida and a two-ear triumph in the sunshine of Mont de Marsan. To add to his earlier tossing here, he was caught again in this faena, ending prostate in the mud. But his qualities, let alone his resilience, his face bloodied, his hair plastered to his head, his white traje now a mottled mess of blood and mud, shone through. There were some lovely delantales with the capote and, in the circumstances, a very good showing, classical in form, with the muleta, kept mainly in the left hand. Pérez heard an aviso during an ending of a decent estocada and four descabellos, the kind-hearted crowd still winning him an ear. He will not forget this day in a hurry; after his vuelta, Marco returned to the plaza infirmary having cut one of his feet with the descabello.
What remained was an impressive performance from Zulueta, who had a respectable novillo in front of him this time. He began with some measured verónicas, then opted to forego a quite for a faena of templados derechazos, naturales and chest passes, his sevillano roots evident. He closed with some delightful pases ayudados, an ear undoubtedly his, only to deliver a pinchazo, an estocada caída and four descabellos and take saludos instead.
Today was perhaps one for suspending one’s normal judgement of events in the arena. What was clear was the novilleros’ willingness to face difficult circumstances. Marco Pérez, for one, will now have no illusions about the demands his chosen profession can make.
