Sevilla’s 10 best faenas

Puerta del Príncipe ironwork

This year’s just-completed Feria de Abril saw a number of outstanding bulls, although only one ganadería, that of Victorino Martín, produced an encierro that was enthralling from beginning to end. In most cases, however, the best bulls met with toreros who were able to make the most of the opportunity, so that the series of corridas produced near-daily triumphs, ending as one of Sevilla’s finest ferias of recent years. Here is my list of the feria’s top 10 faenas:

10. Tomás Rufo and ‘Pistolero’ (Domingo Hernández)

Despite being dedicated to the public, ‘Pistolero’ was no animal for a triumph - weak, distracted, it’s head kept high and hooking. Nevertheless, Rufo secured a number of stretching muletazos, turning the bull as they ended, and clearly demonstrated he was far above the quality of this animal. An excellent estocada finished the matador’s transparent display of his substantial talent.

9. Ginés Marín and ‘Espárrago’ (El Torero)

Ginés Marín has for long promised to be one of the leading young toreros, has even exited Las Ventas through its Puerta Grande before now, but has never quite really hit the big time. Until April 29, when, with ‘Espárrago’, he showed not only his customary variety with the muleta, but also a new-found concern with temple, coupled with a greater consideration for his bull than has often been the case previously. A solid estocada led to two ears. If he manages to obtain a similar triumph in San Isidro, expect his career to take off.

8. Andrés Roca Rey and ‘Cóndor’ (Victoriano del Río)

The young Peruvian achieved his first exit through Sevilla’s Puerta del Príncipe after cutting three ears on April 21. This was a typical Roca Rey display, all determinedly linked passes, the bulls passing close to his body. But with this approach comes roughness, bumping and ugly contortions. So, for this writer, his best faena of the feria came a week later with the last bull of the afternoon (Andrés having already cut an ear from his first animal). ‘Cóndor’ was uninterested in the capote, keeping its head held high, and was manso en varas, but Roca Rey met it in the faena with some beautiful pases por alto, the last mirando al público, then proceeded to give it ‘clean’ series on either hand before closing with some impressive arrimón, an estocada and descabello. The crowd petitioned for two ears (and a second Puerta del Príncipe for Andrés), but the president stuck at one.

7. Emilio de Justo and ‘Milanés’ (Victorino Martín)

With the extremeño having already cut an ear from his first victorino and most of the string performing strongly, hopes were initially high for a further triumph with his second bull of the afternoon. However, ‘Milanés’ gave no signs for success in the opening tercios, so it was with some surprise that de Justo chose to give his all in a faena more typical of a performance at Céret or Vic-Fezensac and rarely seen in Sevilla. Toreo with the feet as well as the arms followed as a brave Emilio squeezed a faena out on the bull’s right horn (it was impossible on the left), even managing some passes with the muleta kept low. By the faena’s end, ‘Milanés’ was thoroughly dominated and only the closing swordwork prevented a further ear coming Emilio’s way.

6. El Cid and ‘Mecatero’ (Victorino Martín)

There’d been mixed feelings about Manuel Jesús’s decision to return to the bullrings after his “definitive” retirement of three years ago, reflected in the lack of contracts awarded to the Sevillian for 2023. However, that situation could well change after his hometown return to face his accomplices of old - the bulls of Victorino Martín. He impressed with his faena to his first short-charging bull, moving to that famous left hand of his from the start, and the same approach was adopted in his second faena to ‘Mecatero’, but a tercio that featured more linking than earlier together with a sword that went in to the hilt, dropping the bull, won a beaming El Cid a fully merited ear.

5. Tomás Rufo and ‘Insensato’ (Jandilla)

Is there any other torero today who can extend passes and turn bulls as well as Tomás Rufo? His faena with ‘Insensato’ brought the talented youngster his second Puerta del Príncipe in as many years. This afternoon didn’t have the drama of 2022, when only the ring’s sodden sand saved him from bad injury when he was caught killing, indeed the corrida was burdened by its occurring a day after Morante de la Puebla’s historic cutting of a tail, but Rufo showed he was a thinking torero, capturing the spectators’ attention by getting down on his knees for a series to commence the faena. Thereafter, the crowd’s focus was truly on him as Tomás constructed exhilarating, low tandas, his bull eager to follow the cloth and humillando, the matador’s passes increasingly templados as the faena developed. How well Rufo can kill, too, an estocada to the hilt leading to two ears.

4. Manuel Escribano and ‘Patatero’ (Victorino Martín)

Here was a surprise. Not only in the slow nature of ‘Patatero’’s charges in the faena, but also in Escribano’s ability to match the bull’s qualities and calmly bring off a beautifully templada faena, crowned with a magnificent estocada. ‘Patatero’ had performed impressively en varas, accompanied Escribano in a typically exhuberant tercio de banderillas, and kept its head low in the muleta, and thoroughly deserved its vuelta en arrastre. This was one of Escribano’s best-ever showings. Another strong performance with a miura at the feria’s close underlined Escribano’s suitability as a regular participant in the main ferias - perhaps now a substitution in San Isidro will come his way?

3. Morante de la Puebla and ‘Ligerito’ (Garcigrande)

This was the combination that saw the first tail awarded in a Sevilla corrida for 52 years, so why aren’t the pair heading this list? The answer is that the award (which was merited) reflected ‘Ligerito’’s complete lidia, while this list is just concerned with the final tercio. While Morante’s capework to this bull was unforgettable and his faena the strongest of a number of consistently pleasing performances with the muleta he gave in the feria, this was not the best faena of the fortnight. By the time the faena commenced, Morante and ‘Ligerito’ had already provided memorable moments with faroles, delantales, tafalleras and gaoneras on top of several of Morante’s particular verónicas. Indeed, so much capework had taken place, there were worries about the bull lasting the faena, but ‘Ligerito’ had the strength and was rightly awarded with a vuelta en arrastre at the faena’s end. Morante calmly engaged the animal with magnificent ayudados por alto and linked series of derechazos and naturales, the latter particularly suave, interspersed with some old-style toreo like a belmontista molinete. The artistry was rightly crowned with a fine estocada, the tendidos by now in a state of delirium.

2. Emilio de Justo and ‘Filósofo’ (Olga Jiménez)

Emilio de Justo’s performance with ‘Filósofo’, a toro de bandera given a vuelta en arrastre on May 24, was his best of the feria. With his taleguilla patched up after a cogida en quites, de Justo coolly dominated his opponent in the muleta, bringing off superb derechazos, naturales, the cloth kept low, and chest passes, the linking perfectly timed, before delivering a characteristically honest and effective estocada to rightly claim the animals’ two ears. Emilio had taken up the challenge of ‘Filósofo’’s aggression and strength, stuck to the classical passes and produced a classic faena as a consequence.

1. Daniel Luque and ‘Príncipe’ (El Parralejo)

On an afternoon of generally weak El Parralejo bulls, it was Daniel Luque’s good fortune (and ultimately the spectators’) that he drew the only decent bull of the lot. In fact, ‘Príncipe’ was exceptional, receiving a vuelta en arrastre at the end of its lidia. But Luque was exceptional too, from the opening series of exquisite verónicas to what must have been one of the finest faenas of his life. A sevillano in Sevilla, Daniel opted to begin the faena with a sequence of derechazos and trincherillas to take the bull further out into the arena, where he gave a superb tanda of linked derechazos, his figure relaxed, the muleta templada, that set the tone for the rest of the tercio. With ‘Príncipe’ eager to charge to the cloth, Luque brought off further series of derechazos, grand chest passes (one of which involved a complete circle around the matador’s body) and then naturales, all performed with style and magnificent temple. He closed with derechazos de frente, the sword cast aside and then a no-holds-barred estocada to claim the bull’s two ears.