Today, Sunday, was one of those afternoons that make you a fan… of golf. A bonanza. Three hours of desperate slumber; 10 bulls came out of the pens —the six from the titular brand and four substitutes—, from five different ranches —Antonio Bañuelos, Montalvo, Couto de Fornilhos, C. Valiente and Las Ramblas—, and all of them failed with a very low mark due to their lack of strength, meekness and definitive absence of breed. The icing on the cake was the third, from Bañuelos, who broke a hand in the third pass from José Fernando Molina and the possible charm was broken.
There was a moment, it is also true, when a thread of hope emerged from the hand of Juan de Castilla, in the muleta work with his second bull – a substitute from Las Ramblas – with very little strength, noble, of class in dribs and drabs, which, rather than charging, walked through the arena with little grace and less effort; but his foolish nobility, always with his face halfway up and without any zeal, allowed the Colombian bullfighter to offer a valid demonstration of his bullfighting grace, his unavoidable disposition and good and tempered manners. In this way, he shone with both horns, with slow and graceful muletazos; he finished with an exquisite change of hands and some manoletinas on his knees that opened the possibility of an ear that flew away when he failed with the descabello.
It was a world of trouble for him to charge the one who opened the ring, stopped, lifeless, torn and frightened, with whom the Colombian bullfighter, always well positioned and with a proud attitude, did what he could, which was, neither more nor less, than to squeeze the almost null possibilities of his opponent.
But the fifth bull, a substitute from Couto de Fornilhos, was a coward, fleeing terrified from the capes and for more than ten minutes running from one side of the ring to the other, looking for the exit like a madman. It was the director of the fight, the aforementioned Juan de Castilla, who managed to get him to resort to trickery before the two picadors hit the tame bull hard.
Isaac Fonseca, who was assigned to handle the bull, showed a worrying inhibition in the first two thirds, and could do nothing with the muleta against an opponent with no chance of shining. He was more determined, but without luck, against the lackluster Montalvo substitute, with which Juan Carlos Rey excelled in the fight and Curro Javier and Jesús Robledo Tito with the banderillas.
And bad luck also struck Albacete’s José Fernando Molina, who was very showy with the verónica in his two bulls; he offered the first to the public, but the animal broke a hand in the third pass and that was the end of the story. He offered the last one again, which seemed to be the least bad of the sad performance, but he did not want to make his companions look bad and he did not give any chances to shine.
As I said: today was one of those afternoons that make people want to watch any show other than bullfighting.
Bañuelos/From Castile, Fonseca, Molina
Bulls of Antonio Banuelos —the second, fourth and fifth were returned as invalids—, well presented, bold horns, fine horns, very soft, tame and castrated; first substitute, of Montalvowell presented and very dull; second, of Fornilhos Cotocowardly at the start and very tame; the third, of C. Bravereturned due to invalidity and replaced by another of Las Ramblasfair in appearance, gentle and noble.
John of Castile: good stab (ovation); extended stab, descabello (warning) and a descabello (lap around the ring).
Isaac Fonseca: prick, stab —warning— (silence); three punctures —warning— (silence).
Jose Fernando Molina: three punctures and five descabellos (silence); stab (silence).
Las Ventas Square. September 22. More than a third of the seats are full: 8,157 spectators, according to the company.