This Sunday I saw the first bullfight of the season in Puerto Santa Maria. I got season tickets (seven fights) this year for 167 euros. I’m really excited because I got great seats for cheap. I got sol (half the cost of shaded seats) tendido 4 (really near the shade/sun wall so half hour into the fight you are in shade) and fila 3 (3rd row up so you are very close to the action.) The only problem with buying abono tickets is on 20AUG a fight occurs in both Sanlucar and Puerto. It is beyond me why the arenas did not coordinate their schedules.
The 24JUL fight was unique in that it was a Corrida de Torros Mixta. It had two bulls fought on horseback and four bulls fought on traditional foot. In the past bullfights have been one or the other. Different techniques require different bull attributes so the horse bulls were from D. Fernando Sam Pedro. The bulls in the traditional style were from Salvador Domecq. Domecq bulls were of the ranch we visited earlier this year.
For the first bull Diego Ventura (34 yr. old from Portugal) earned one year.
For the second bull Juan Padilla (43 year old from Jerez now living in Sanlucar) earned one ear. He faced a 530 kg bull who knocked a gap in the Barrera. This gap consisted on 5 board not just the top board. Padilla as always did his own banderillas and got music in the second act. He appeared to hurt his one remaining eye with a missed first escarpada. In Padilla form he manned up and finished the bull anyway.
For the third bull Lopez Simon (26 yr. old from Madrid) faced a 480 kg bull. His caudrilla did his banderillas and no music occurred in the second act. He did earn music in the third act. His escarpada went in the right for quarter and needed a descabello which dropped the bull in seconds. He earned an ear.
For the fourth bull Diego Ventura (horse) fought a 500 kg bull. He had a clean kill and placed his elbow on the bulls head while on horseback. He circled the 63 meter arena multiple times with the horse running sideways mm from the bull’s horns. He earned one ear but the crown felt he deserved two. The judge got booed!
For the fifth bull Jose Padilla took a 485 kg 5 yr. bull. The bull tore the veronica on the first act but Padilla did not drop it. A veronica is thick as canvass. I can see why Padilla medically wraps all his fingers! Padilla did his own banderillas and placed 5/6. He did not get music on the third act and he dropped the muleta. He showed usual bravery by being on his knees for much of it. He placed a single deep escoparda probably in the lungs. He prevented his caudrilla from waving flags to get the bulls blood pressure up facilitating the desangination. The kill took too long. The crowd was getting angry with Padilla. The bull went down without a descabello but it was awkward. Padilla actually put the muleta on the bulls back which seemed disrespectful. Padilla is a showman and brave. I really like Padilla. He did not handle the end of the 3rd act of his 5th bull in the best way.
For the sixth bull Lopez Simon faced a 540 kg bull (biggest of the night.) A great bull, the bull charged hard and held his head low on one pass and actually did a headstand when his horns got caught in the dirt. The cuadrilla put 6/6 banderillas in true. The picadors with Lopez were gentle on both his bulls earned admiration from the crown (vs Padilla.) He earned music on the third act with a very slow, controlled dance with the bull. Watching Lopez’s third act was what bullfighting is all about. His kill was clean He earned two ears from a reluctant judge. The crowd booed her until she gave the second. I talked with my tech who is from Mexico the following day (he knows bullfighting as Mexico has a proud history of it) and he told me the judge didn’t know what she was doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment