There are very good bullfighters with deep Castoreño, as quality abounds among those on foot; What happens is that the profession of the former is in the doldrums, in danger of extinction. But this afternoon, before two bulls from Baltasar Ibán, with fixity in their gaze and bravery in their guts, well positioned, in addition, by the bullfighters on duty, two picadors, Juan Francisco Peña and Luis Alberto Parrón, have offered a rarely seen spectacle in the plazas: a bull that greedily gallops from the middle to the horse, and a man who waits for it with the rod raised, stabs into the bull’s shoulder, endures the furious push of the animal and lifts the punishment at the right moment, at the while the lines explode with emotion.
It happened in the fight of the third, which made for an unequal fight and was very dull in the following thirds; and in the fifth, Bastonito by name, like the one (also made of the same iron) with which César Rincón was consecrated in this same arena, on June 7, 1994. He galloped the horse in both entrances and humiliatedly pushed with his kidneys ; He stood on flags, and came up on the crutch.
Francisco de Manuel, his matador, who had excelled in a close-fitting chicuelina shoot, finished off with a showy stocking, waited for him on his knees in the middle, and in such a way he drew four right hands that he closed, already standing, with an elegant pass of contempt and another of chest.
Bastonito pursued the muleta, with determination and humiliation, and De Manuel took advantage of his opponent’s quality to link two more than acceptable rounds of muleta blows with his right hand that pointed to something big. Indeed, the task rose in tone in the natural bullfighting, the bull was obedient and repetitive, and the bullfighter’s inspiration was well drawn.
When he met him again with the right, Bastonito said that he had already given his all, and that he lacked more fuel; Even so, he went to the meeting of some elegant people helped by bass.
It was not very clear if much more was expected from the bullfighter, which may be, or that the public had opted for the bull from the beginning; The truth is that De Manuel did not kill well, he heard two warnings, Bastonito was fired with a great ovation after a large part of the bullring insisted that he return to the ring, the president heard a loud rant and the bullfighter, division of opinions when he came out to say hello.
All this happened in the fifth, but that other brave and happy bull on the horse, the third, was not at the desired height. He also stood on flags and behaved very calmly on the muleta. Álvaro Alarcón tried to take advantage of the opportunity, but it was not possible neither in this nor against the rough and violent sixth.
The Alarcón thing has a crumb. He took the alternative on May 10 of last year in this square, and from then until today he has only fought one more afternoon, in the Toledo town of Trujillo. He lacks a job, logically, and he seemed determined, but with few resources, as it could not be otherwise. Miracles don’t usually happen when you need them. And Alarcón needed a big one to get his head up the ranks.
Nor could Francisco de Manuel show off against his first, who charged with his face in the clouds, nor was the Mexican El Calita, the oldest and with the most experience behind him, lucky. He got the worst lot, the two bulls were very lackluster, and before both he showed himself brave, with clear ideas and commendable dedication.
This has been the first bullfight of the six that are announced at the fair. The bravery on the horse of the two reviewed and the general good play of the others in the first third do not justify a bullfight with an ugly, bland and excessively lackluster style.
Ibán/El Calita, De Manuel, Alarcón
Bulls of Baltasar Ibán, correct in presentation, conscientious, lackluster, outcast, rude and ugly in style; happy the third and the fifth on the horse. The latter, the classiest in the muleta, was asked to return to the ring.
El Calita: almost entire fall, three crazy moments, warning, and the bull lays down (silence); low lunge (silence).
Francisco de Manuel: fallen lunge, warning, and six madnesses (silence); perpendicular thrust, warning, a madness, second warning (division of opinions).
Alvaro Alarcon: rear lunge (silence); lunge (silence).
Plaza de las Ventas. May 12. Third run of the San Isidro Fair. Just under three quarters of admission (15,111 spectators, according to the company). A minute of silence was held in memory of Pedro Giraldo, retired bullfighter and banderillero, and husband of the bullfighting photographer and writer Muriel Feiner, who died this morning in Madrid.
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