The troubles with Madrid

The reports on this blog site from this year’s Feria de San Isidro have shown that there has been plenty for the discerning aficionado to enjoy. Nevertheless, the overall results - particularly after an excellent Feria de Abril at Sevilla - have been disappointing. If you leave out the rejoneo events where award-giving has always been generous, the only torero de a pie to win two ears from one bull was the novillero Jarocho, and the only other Puerta Grande exit by Fernando Adrián. Only four matadores de toros won single ears in the month-long series - Román, Alejandro Talavante, Tomás Rufo and David Galván - plus two novilleros, Alejandro Peñaranda and Ismael Martín. What were the reasons for this relative lack of success?

The Madrid bull

Of the 149 bulls faced by toreros on foot, the numbers sent back to the corrales were relatively low (eight - 5.4%), but not a single animal was awarded a vuelta en arrastre and many bulls lacked the strength or the will to take part in their faenas. Some of this could be laid at the door of poor picing, but a significant contributing factor is what is presented as ‘the bull of Madrid’.

As the taurine critic José Carlos Arévalo commented during the feria, questioning the category of Las Ventas: “A serious bullring is one that demands a serious bull, not a bull inflated with flesh that corsets its bravery; an old bull that charges much less, as every amateur knows; a bull that triumphs at 12 in the morning in the corrals and fails at 7 in the afternoon in the ring.” He could have added a bull with serious armament, but not horns so extensive that they make clean passing of the animal a near impossibility.

At a time like now when there is a shortage of toros de lidia, there is very little choice when it comes to selecting animals that are considered suitable in appearance for Madrid’s premier plaza. Indeed, appearance can become the sole determining factor.

It is high time the empresa, its veedor and the veterinarians of Las Ventas bit the bullet and began selecting bulls more likely to succeed in the ring rather than keep attempting to pander to the bizarre tastes of Tendido 7 (who still whistle most bulls that come into the ring anyway). Yes, there’ll be a rumpus initially, but the results in the plaza should make it all worthwhile.

The presidents

It would be helpful, too, if the presidents at Las Ventas had a better understanding of their responsibilities. There was at least one superb bull, ‘Dulce’ of Victoriano del Río, that should have been given a vuelta en arrastre, but the president that afternoon, José Luis González González, said later he had not shown the blue handkerchief to spare its matador, Borja Jiménez, further embarrassment, González having already opted not to award the sevillano a second ear which most people in the plaza had petitioned for.

The president is, of course, the sole decision-maker as to whether a second ear should be given, but it is totally incorrect to take the matador’s feelings (real or supposed) into account when considering whether or not to award a vuelta for a bull.

Furthermore, there were examples of majority petitions for single ears to be awarded being ignored - from the reports on this blog, Miguel Ángel Perera, the novillero Alejandro Peñaranda (denied a Puerta Grande exit as a consequence), Tomás Rufo, Andrés Roca Rey and Manuel Escribano were all victims of what a knowledgeable reader of the Reglamentos would regard as an abuse of power. Such decisions can be made for a variety of reasons, of course - disagreement with the quality of a performance, concerns about the numbers petitioning when many spectators have left the tendidos to take shelter from the weather, a wish to uphold the supposed status of a plaza… While there can be such occasions when I agree with the president, on balance, I would like to see all majority petitions upheld, rewarding spectator participation. The corrida, after all, is a fiesta del pueblo.

The spectators

Madrid is known as the toughest plaza in the world, particularly for the figuras, given the presence of ultra-critical spectators in Tendido 7 and part of 8 with their fixed views on what bulls should look like and how both bull and matador should perform. José Carlos Arévalo again: “A serious bullring is one that evaluates the bullfighter for what he does with the bull [… and] that does not allow a minority of troublemakers to ruin the lidia one afternoon after another.” Their noisy protests give rise to an atmosphere that is anything but encouraging for the toreros down on the sand. More patience on their part might lead to some better performances, but I suspect this is one aspect of Madrid that is irremovable.

The plaza

Las Ventas has too big an arena; if bulls are not collected in the lure early enough and spend their time circling the ring, their strength in the faena is affected. Can’t the empresa be persuaded to add a few more expensive seats and reduce the size of the ring?

Probably a more expensive solution would be required to eradicate the wind that can so often spoil the toreros’ efforts in the ring. Previous attempts to consider putting a roof on the plaza have come to nought, but technology is improving all the time and the possibility of covering the plaza (ideally with a retractable top) should continue to be evaluated.