What rates a tail in Plaza México?
It is always difficult to gauge the true worth of a performance from watching video highlights, and I usually refrain from making comments based on such viewings. But I have to say, on the basis of such visual evidence (a resumé of the corrida on suertematador.com), I was staggered by the award of a tail in Mexico’s premier bullring, Plaza México, to Andrés Roca Rey following his second lidia of a bull of Xajay on the evening of February 3.
Roca Rey’s lidia of the bull had a poor beginning - a botched larga cambiada de rodillas a puertagayola, the Peruvian throwing himself on the ground to avoid his opponent - and a poor ending, the muleta lost in an estocada caída. In between, while there were some decent delantales with the capote and some promising estatuarios, chest pass and desdén to start the faena, it was a history of largely frustrated intentions and mainly linear toreo to an inoffensive short-charging bull, with little linking, the bull’s condition causing Andrés to virtually start again with citing in between each muletazo. There was no temple to speak of, and just one series of decent derechazos with the cloth kept low, an over-excited crowd responding by getting to their feet. Not only was a tail added to the (already inexplicible) award of two ears, but the bull was given an undeserved arrastre lento.
Far better, to my mind, was Roca Rey’s showing with his opening Xajay bull. It began with some excellent verónicas and a quite of fine chicuelinas with the capote kept low. Andrés started the faena with muletazos from on his knees, and it was soon clear this was an excellent bull, keen to come to the cloth and play its part in linked series. Some good, curving, derechazos and chest passes were followed by close naturales ayudados before the matador intermixed tandas on the right and left hand before returning to derechazos, where the bull was at its best. In a lengthy faena, as the animal began to tire, Andrés was content to continue to torear nearer the barrera, producing circulares. He closed with a sequence of very close bernadinas before going over the bull for a strong estocada.
It’s particularly hard to analyse crowd reactions (when you can hear them) in video showings. There was some booing as Roca Rey displayed the two ears awarded for this bull (given a deserving arrastre lento) - was the booing aimed at the president because of this award or for not awarding the tail as well? Certainly, as the Peruvian was carried out on shoulders at the corrida’s end, so a number of cushions rained down, indicating that not everyone was happy with today’s outcome. Nevertheless, the history books will record Andrés Roca Rey (who received three avisos in Plaza México last year) as being the sixth matador in the ring’s 79 years to win five apendices in a single corrida, the last time this happened being Eloy Cavazos in 1998.