The picador Alberto Sandoval (Salamanca, 31 years old) no longer has room in his house in Pelarrodríguez, a small town in the province of no more than 60 inhabitants in winter, to place the trophies he has won throughout his bullfighting career. This year alone there are so many that he blushingly confesses that he has lost count; He has already collected several for his performances in the past San Isidro, but the phone does not stop ringing for him to go to clubs and bullfighting clubs, which demand his presence to entertain him for his bullfighting on horseback.
But that’s not all. If in 2002, Morante de la Puebla reached the mark of 100 bullfights fought, together with the banderillero Fernando Sánchez, who performed 101 afternoons, in 2024 it has been Sandoval who has set the bar even higher: 108 celebrations; 35 of them in Borja Jiménez’s gang, and the rest with Fernando Adrián, Damián Castaño, Manuel Diosleguarde and the bullfighter Marco Pérez, among others.
Sandoval defines himself as a country man; Although he was born in the capital of Salamanca, his entire life has been spent on a cattle farm near Pelarrodríguez, his parents’ land, where he has lived for four years. His uncle and also picador, Tito Sandoval, his mother’s brother, is responsible for the fact that his nephew decided at the age of 16 to wear the castoreño, the jacket and pants and carry the rod to make his way in the world of bullfighting.
“A picador must be a good horseman, know the conditions of the bull and the moment of the matador”
“I wasn’t thinking of dedicating myself to bullfighting,” says the bullfighter; “I have always been linked to the countryside, livestock, and riding horses since I was a child; “My father enrolled me in a bullfighting school, but I found that very difficult.”
And he adds that with his uncle he discovered his vocation: “With him I went to the temptations when I was a kid and I soon understood that I was not bad at it; So at the age of 16 I got my picador’s license and soon after I made my debut in La Maestranza.”
The event—his public debut—occurred on September 13, 2009 in Seville, under the command of the Mexican bullfighter Fernando Labastida; and on July 17, 2011 he made his first Paseíllo in Las Ventas, together with the bullfighter Adolfo Ramos, always guided by the advice of his teacher.
“My uncle has taught me everything, I am a picador thanks to him, we maintain a close relationship and I am very grateful to him,” he emphasizes. Both uncle and nephew have fought in 2024 alongside Borja Jiménez, but the couple will separate professionally next year because the Sevillian bullfighter has surpassed 36 bullfights, which boosts him to the special group of matadors and forces him to wear a fixed crew. In that case, Sandoval prefers to fight ‘loose’, which allows him to perform with other bullfighters and add more celebrations.
Ask. Does one get used to being a winner?
Answer. Don’t know; The only thing I am clear about is that I want to do my job well every day. I try to make luck as I feel it whenever the bull allows me.
P. And how do you feel about it?
R. I like that the animal allows me to give it the times, square it and do everything very slowly, and that there is an opportunity for the bull to position itself and I can quote it.
Something like this must have happened last San Isidro, when Alberto Sandoval bulls from Santiago Domecq, Victorino Martín and José Escolar, to the general approval. And from some of those efforts, placed and measured, have derived the trophies that he is collecting this winter. But this is not the first year that the picador from Salamanca debuts as a winner of awards. Thus, at the drop of a hat, and without apparently giving it too much importance, he remembers the awards won in previous years in France, Málaga, Salamanca, Burgos, Logroño…
“I haven’t counted all the ones I have spread between my house and my parents’ farm, but yes, there are many…”, admits the bullfighter.
P. What are the conditions that a good picador must meet?
R. Be a good horseman and know the livestock of the bull you are fighting and the bullfighter you are riding with.
“I work to be better every day and grow in the profession. “I don’t intend to compete with anyone.”
P. You go with many…
R. It’s true. I go with matadors and novilleros, and I am concerned about knowing the moment of each one, because there are usually no prior indications; I must know how each one likes the bull, more or less chopped.
P. Don’t you think that, in general, today’s bull goes out into the ring with very fair strength, as if it had already been stung?
R. I don’t think so. It depends a lot on the breeding, the livestock, the bullfighter and the moment he is going through.
P. There is the impression that bullfighters do not give the third of varas the importance it deserves…
R. Don’t know. It depends a lot on the farms. The bullfighters rely on the mobility of the bull, especially in the first-class bullrings, where two punches are mandatory. But, on many occasions, the public considers the picadors the bad guys in the movie and this happens due to lack of knowledge. The bull has not entered the horse and the protests are already intensifying. However, when the third of rods is done well, everyone likes it.
P. And what does a picador do in winter?
R. In my case, riding every day – I have five horses and three colts -, going out into the countryside, going to tentaderos and bullfighting behind closed doors. A while ago I also dedicated myself to dressage, but my profession no longer allows it.
P. Did you expect this professional recognition?
R. Honestly, I haven’t thought about it. I work to be better every day and grow in the profession. I don’t intend to compete with anyone.
Alberto Sandoval says that when his cell phone rang he was feeding his animals, he acknowledges that he is very proud of his progress as a bullfighter and states bluntly that he is not the most popular resident of Pelarrodríguez.
“No, because four of the town’s residents are picadors: my uncle Tito, Francisco Tapia, now retired, Javier González and me.”
Nothing is perfect…