The gala for the presentation of the posters of the San Isidro Fair, held yesterday afternoon, was going through the festive channels of political correctness – a spectacular tent in the Las Ventas ring, music, lights, some funny presenters, authorities, a friendly and applauding audience, and even a magician – when the news-covered surprise came: Borja Jiménez, the only bullfighter who is locked up alone with six bulls at the San Isidro Fair. Isidro publicly invited his partner Roca Rey to deal together with the victorians at the Autumn Fair.
It all happened when Ramón García, who was acting as presenter along with Gemma Camacho, highlighted Jiménez’s gesture of locking himself in with six bulls and gave him the microphone. “How do you do that?” he asked. And the Sevillian bullfighter answered that he owes a lot to the fans of Madrid, and that bullfighting is a constant bet on the truth. “And a little bird told me,” García insisted, “that, as if the six bulls were not enough, you have asked for something for the Autumn Fair.” And Borja answered: “Yes, I have asked for Victorino’s bullfight, and now that I have seen that the image of the fair and the main protagonist is Roca Rey, I want to invite him to bullfight with me in that bullfight.”
Ramón García settled the matter as best he could: “Well, nothing, he has thrown the gauntlet at the teacher, and let them talk about it among themselves.”
The gala continued as if nothing had happened, but once it was over, Jiménez explained to this newspaper: “I had nothing prepared; it came out of my soul when I saw that Roca is the image on the fair’s poster when the one who is locked up with six bulls is me.”
The bullfighters did not speak among themselves, but Roca Rey offered his opinion on the radio program El Toril de Onda Madrid: “How nice Borja’s offer is; it’s nice that the bullfighters offer themselves in that way. It hasn’t shocked me. We’ll see what happens, the season is very long and there’s a long way to go until autumn.”
The matter remained there, and the future will tell if the Peruvian right-hander accepts the Sevillian’s invitation, although the decision could depend on whether Roca Rey triumphantly passes through the San Isidro Fair or not.
The truth is that Roca Rey was one of the great protagonists of the gala. Plaza 1 had chosen him as the image of the fair, as had already happened in 2025 with Victoria Federica de Marichalar, and in 2024 with Cayetana Rivera, and the bullfighter went up to the stands to receive the honors (a making of about the photographic process) and gave a poetic speech about the party.
It had all started with the performance of the magician Murphy, who heist the hearts of the bullfighters in the front row and showed a cloth with the gala motto: “Madrid, the heart of bullfighting.” Next, the musical group Kisko Espinosa performed the song Madrid is felt, not seencreated for the occasion.
As in previous editions, Plaza 1 invented some awards with little meaning: Livestock Award of the Season, to Jandilla; Youth and Bullfighting Award, to Álvaro Fernández, son of Florito, who takes on the job of halter this year; Women and Bullfighting Award, to the journalist Mariló Montero, and Bullfighting Ambassador Award, to the footballer Sergio Ramos.
Since the athlete was not present, Alejandro Talavante went up to collect the trophy, which he received from former soccer player Bernard Schuster, which served to honor the bullfighter for his 20 years of alternative, which he celebrates this season.
The president of Plaza 1, Rafael García Garrido, spoke, emphasizing that “we are facing the renewal of the ranks,” pointing out that there are bullfighters from three generations in the fair, and concluded: “Without the figures we will be small, and without the new bullfighters we will never be great.”
The event was opened by the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida; Roca Rey and Mariló Montero followed, and it was closed by the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
The four focused their interventions on the defense of bullfighting against its detractors, unequivocal proof of the exaggerated importance they give to anti-bullfighting movements over the internal problems of the festival.
Nobody talked about the bull, for example.
Before the stage went off, presenter Gemma Camacho recalled that season tickets can now be purchased; but some cups of warm broth caught the attention of the audience as the chairs were removed and the meal began. catering.