Tentando is part of a toreros life I enjoy. There is nothing like sampling the different styles of the vacas, the ambiente of the toreros and guests and the obligatory fiesta and food which follows, sometimes. In the photos below, Uriel Moreno “El Zapata” put in quality time with Mexican vacas at a couple of recent tientas. Fotos courtesy of “El Zapata”

Earlier this week, photos were distributed on Mundo Taurino of the Corrida from Mexican Ganaderia Barralva. To say the least, the disaster which is the empresa of Plaza Mexico once again run by Rafael Herrerías has proven it has no shame. Four out of the six toros sent for the January 26th 2009 corrida which is the Confirmation for Miguel Angel Perera, are bizcos. Embarrassingly so. With such attention on the Confirmation of Parera who shares the cartel with Padrino Manolo Mejia and Testigo Jose Mauricio, one would think the empresa would raise the standards. Such is not the case, and such is the perfect example of the mess Plaza Mexico is.

I know this is old news but I wanted to post this beautiful piece anyway. I was surfing through video online when I came across an episode of Piel de Toro from Burladero.com on Dailymotion which I had not seen before. It reminded me why as I’ve said before, I acknowledge the genius of José Tomás and potential greatness of Miguel Angel Parera, but I remain a Morantista. Morante de la Puebla embellishes his performances with his Sevillano style which is pure to form and when inspired he pours his soul into his tauromaquia like no other. In this video Morante is accompanied by Diego El Cigala as he fights front of the crowd in Salamanca’s “La Glorieta”.

Drifting from Toros, Vino y Futból… I believe if your being paid Millions to Quarterback in the NFL and your team is trailing, the expectation is to let alone attempt, but definitely know how to rally your team with 1:50 left in a game. What the fuck was Tarvaris Jackson doing this past Sunday 1/4/08 in the Playoff game versus those nasty Philadelphia Eagles? This is not to say I expected Jackson to manage the clock with no timeouts like John Elway, Steve Young or even as Philip Rivers did the day before for the San Diego Chargers. All I’m saying is, why not spike the ball to stop the clock, throw to the sidelines, quick snap it… anything. Jackson’s body language was that of a boy trying to rack leaves on a windy day and not wanting to be out there! I say, Jackson has had his opportunities, get the fuck rid of him. Kerry Collins, Kurt Warner and Matt Cassel are all gonna be free agents. Anybody who knows what the Hell to do, will do. On another note and I promise no more American Football until the Super Bowl, I’m starting my slow trot to maybe think about jumping on the bandwagon of the San Diego Chargers. Gotta love the effort the team put in on Saturday. Teams are actually concerned about playing them now. Next Pittsburgh, if not Vikings in 2009!

The 2008 DBB Brownie category for best Traje de Luces has uncovered a subject close to my heart. Growing up as a frustrated maletilla along side my brother, we were fascinated by the costumes of the toreros. We would always see who would show up with the best looking trajes. We knew the Matadores for their preferred colors, motifs or sastres. My interest grew when I aquired John Fulton’s book “Bullfighting”. In the book, Fulton explains how he identified opportunities in the traditional design of the Traje de Luces and made some ground breaking improvements such as partial embroidered and more flexible hombreras and hassle free machos. He also dabbled in motif designs which are still used today (Sanchez Vara is a big fan of the Fulton motif). A couple of years ago, my brother gave me a copy of the coffee table book “Oro Plata: Emroidered costumes of the Bullfight”. The book by Peter Müller studies the trajes of Casa Fermin and his torero customers. It really fueled my curiosity for these works of art. So when I decided to award Fernando Cruz with the first annual DBB Brownies for best Traje de Luces, I looked more into the brief history of his trajes. Below are more samples of his trajes. In the first 4 years of being a Matador, Cruz has assembled quite a collection of suits. By the looks of it he has applied the same Brownie winning motif to such design combinations as Azabache/White, Gold/White, Silver/White, Azabache/Sangre, Gold/Tan and the winning Gold/Verde Botella. So, cheers once again to Matador Fernando Cruz and his collection of Traje de Luces. BTW, I will continue to highlight other toreros and their trajes. Look forward to postings on Fernando Ochoa, Morante de la Puebla, El Juli, El Fundi and of course Maestro Luis Francisco Esplá.