Bulls: The Rejoneadora Lea Vicens debuts in San Fermín, the first woman who will step on the Plaza de Pamplona | Culture

The French rejoneadora Lea Vicens will debut at the Pamplona Toro Fair and will thus become the first woman who will step on the ring of Pamplona Square in the traditional celebrations of San Fermín.

Beside him, the Peruvian right -hander Roca Rey will be another year for another protagonist of the cycle in which two afternoons, the most prominent, along with Morante de la Puebla, on July 9.

Read Vicens (Nimes, France, 1985) has declared that being at this “supposes a dream” fair, since this was the only first place left in Europe. Vicens has pointed out that it is news that has produced “a lot of joy” because she was not expected. It was his attorney who called him to tell him that he would act in Pamplona. “I am at a time in my career in which I feel very prepared. If we are lucky in the draw, we are going to have fun,” he said.

Before Lea Vicens, another woman, Mary Fortes, participated in a celebration in this thing in 1977 but did it in a bullfight held in the month of June. For Vicens it is something special to be the first, but also states that “in reality a bullfighter is a bullfighter, regardless of his gender, because he who looks if it is worth or is not the bull is not a committee. A bull does not know if you are a man or a woman.”

Even so, he acknowledges that it is something that pleases him a lot “because I know that with women, in general in the world, there has always been imbalance; but in bullfight I would talk about bullfighter, neither man nor a woman.” “Bullfighting is one of the fairer disciplines there is, where the bull puts you in your place or takes away, but professionals also value your performances by putting you in the squares,” he added.

Vicens is aware of the environment that awaits him in the Plaza de Pamplona, ​​since he considers herself a follower of the Sanfermines: “The first to get up at 8 less one minute in the morning to see the confinement is me.”

It will be the first afternoon of rejoneo in which Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza is not, which retired at the 2024 fair, although this fact does not add “pressure” to the debutant. “I have responsibility, obviously, because in a first place it always gives you a lot of responsibility. And I have a lot of joy and good waves and I think the head is fundamental.”

The president of the Bullfighting Commission of the House of Mercy, José María Marco, has indicated that the double presence of Roca Rey is due to the fact that he has been the winner of the last fairs. The House of Mercy has also presented prices for the Sanfermines this year in which the payment for the Toro Fair rises 2.5 %. The complete budget for the fair is 4.7 million euros, 4 % higher than the previous edition. 65 % are intended to hire bullfighters, 25 % to livestock and 10 % to other expenses as personnel. Today, runs can not be seen on television although Marco has affirmed that the OneToro television operator is studying to make an offer for some of them.