Young, talented valencianos ignored in their home feria
The 2024 temporada saw a fine season by Samuel Navalón, a novillero from Ayora (Valencia), culminating in his alternativa at Albacete and an early confirmación in Madrid’s Las Ventas, the youngster winning ears on both occasions. In Valencia itself, the temporada ended with Enrique Ponce’s high-profile despedida, during which the maestro gave the alternativa to another promising valenciano, long championed by the plaza, Nek Romero.
Having already announced that the city’s July feria of corridas would not take place in 2025 due to works being needed to the bullring, Valencia’s empresa, Nautalia, said that special efforts would be made to ensure March’s Las Fallas would be a top-notch feria. The option of enlarging Las Fallas, however, was soon discounted, Nautalia deciding that an increased number of festejos would simply reduce attendance at the other individual corridas. So, with the usual number of seven corridas to organise (one for rejoneadores), the empresa set about filling the carteles. It then became clear that their idea of a ‘special’ feria involved a sequence of double appearances by acknowledged figuras, as publicity was put out that José María Manzanares, Alejandro Talavante and Andrés Roca Rey would each perform twice.
These contracts having been achieved, the remainder of the carteles were put together. A traditional method of ensuring ongoing local support for los toros is to put on local up-and-coming toreros (one could argue this would be even more important when a city’s two ferias have been reduced to one), but, as the carteles were finalised, it became clear that Nautalia had no intention of following that approach. Indeed, one of the last corridas to be agreed (and, ironically, the one that is likely to be of most interest to aficionados) was the one for the afternoon of March 19 - traditionally Las Fallas’ ‘big day’, but now one the top toreros prefer to avoid - in which the only Valencian matador to feature in the carteles presented to the city’s authorities for approval (last year’s feria triunfador, Román), would torear La Quinta bulls mano a mano with Borja Jiménez.
Young Samuel Navalón - overlooked for Valencia’s Las Fallas
A Diputación de Valencia that was focussed on fomenting local taurine interest could, perhaps, have insisted on an additional corrida featuring both Navalón and Romero, or that the existing carteles be amended to feature both or either of Valencia’s latest matadors, but it was not to be.
Instead, we have the alternativa of a young madrileño, Alejandro Chicharro, while Tomás Rufo and Juan Ortega are the other toreros enabled to share the leading carteles with Manzanares, Talavante and Roca Rey, the bulls for these festejos being supplied by Victoriano del Río, Jandilla and Puerto de San Lorenzo. None of these line-ups are particularly exciting, while the three ‘lesser’ carteles are the aforementioned mano a mano for March 19 (Nautalia have made the nice gesture of donating 3,500 tickets for that afternoon to people affected by the province’s recent floods, which will help boost attendance); March 14, when El Parralejo bulls will be fought by Miguel Ángel Perera, Paco Ureña and Fernando Adrián; and March 17 when Sebastián Castella, Daniel Luque and Emilio de Justo will face bulls of Juan Pedro Domecq. Rejoneo will be supplied by Rui Fernandes, Diego Ventura and Lea Vicens. There will be a novillada sin picadores and two con picadores in which Marco Pérez, Aarón Palacio, Javier Zulueta and El Mene will be among the participants, doubtless also including several young Valencian hopefuls. However, if the dreams of local toreros are to be realised, they need to be supported beyond the stage where they take their alternativas.
It has also been confirmed - perhaps in a sign of things to come this season - that the feria will not be televised.