There’s some interesting discussion of toreo de salón in José Luis Benlloch’s interview with Diego Urdiales in the latest issue of Aplausos. The matador is asked how much running he does each day and replies, “None. I’ve several herniated discs and they’ve advised me to do other types of exercise.”

Benlloch goes on to say that 80% of Diego’s training consists of toreo de salón, the matador considering that, to torear well, you must be able to torear de salón well. The riojano has a spot near his house where he practises, using Arnedo’s covered ring instead if the weather is bad.

Benlloch writes: “It’s important for this exercise to have someone who charges well. This isn’t a minor art: indeed, someone who doesn’t know how to charge well wouldn’t know how to torear well either. In Diego’s case, his brother does the charging, having done this often throughout the matador’s career. In addition, El Víctor, hombre de confianza in Urdiales’ cuadrilla, and Pablo Simón, a friend who is a member of Román’s cuadrilla but who lives nearby in Tafalla, help out by being the bull.”

“On several occasions,” adds Diego, “I practise on my own.”

“Not all toros de salón should charge how one understands a good bull charges,” Benlloch responds, “Nor should the charges be similar all the time. Charging is a science and should involve presenting problems to the matador, otherwise…..”

“My brother has the bull and bullfighting inside his very being” says Diego. “In reality, the bull, toreo, a bull’s charges, the aspects of each encaste - he’s at a different level than most people. And certainly, not all bulls charge in the same way […] If you’re unable to torear de salón well, it’s impossible to accomplish things with a real bull.”

Benlloch asks him if toreando slowly is an important factor.

“No. You have to torear at the actual speed, to torear at different rhythms, whatever’s necessary. You can rest the muleta on the ground and run the hand in slow motion, and anyone will say how well the pass goes, but then, in reality, it’s not like that. You add speed to this muletazo and it changes totally. The changes in rhythm that you experience moving from a novillero sin caballos to a novillero con caballos, and later from novillero to matador, become even more marked if you torea de salón at an unrealistic pace.”

Benlloch asks Diego if, when his brother is acting as the bull, he can understand which bull he has in front of him.

“Yes, of course,” Diego replies. “I know straight away what type of bull he is performing as - even the encaste. What’s difficult and important is having different bulls with differing aspects, and you get the sensation of toreando a bull of a particular encaste.”