Las Ventas 29/3/09: Mario Aguilar Saludos, Javier Cortés Vuelta
Mexican Novillero Mario Aguilar continued his bitter sweet history in Las Ventas on Sunday March 29th with a brave performance which was derailed by a violent tossing and bad luck with a sword. Aguilar who last year left a good impression in Madrid continues to show potential but continued also to be punished by his novillos in the Spanish capital. Madrileño Javier Cortés also turned in a great performance on a windy afternoon with some really fine and low work with the muleta. Cortés could not capitalize with the sword but did earn a vuelta for his efforts.
Yesterday Saturday March 21st, Morante de la Puebla cut the two ears of a sobrero from the ganaderia Albarreal in the Corrida Goyesca in Espartinas. The mano a mano between Ortega Cano and Morante was without highlights and was reminiscent of last years infamously over publicized and dull mano a mano between José Tomás and Morante. Ortega Cano, again proving himself as the Eloy Cavazos (2008 DBB Brownie “Ya Basta” winner) of Spain could not produce with his lot of toros as well as Morante with his. After returning the sixth toro to the corrals, Morante faced the sobrero and turned in an inspired performance. Morante commented “Ese toro me ha respondido hasta el final… Ese toro ha roto para adelante de forma bravucona y me ha dejado interpretarme… le he exigido mucho desde el princpio y me ha durado prácticamente hasta el final. Los demás no han dado opción, aunque sí me han dejado saludarlos con el capote”. The foto above captured the pompousness of a Goyesca Corrida and is complemented by the comfort and control of Morante de la Puebla. It is currently my desktop of choice.
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While web surfing recently, I stumbled across a video of Mexican Legend Manolo Martinez. In looking at the video, I had flashbacks of my youth. The video brought back memories of summer afternoons which started early on Sunday mornings, planning my trips south of the border on foot, by bus or when I finally received my drivers license, by car. My days were spent waiting for the days corrida and looking forward to seeing my favorite toreros Antonio Lomelin, David Silveti, Manolo Arruza and Adrian Romero. Those yearly years allowed me to chose my preferences of toreo as an aficionado as I understood them. In doing so I excluded some matadores based on mediocre, overrated, undisciplined and unschooled styles. One matador who I saw fight the most but yet I never took to his style was Manolo Martinez. By the time I first saw him perform in 1975, he had already occupied the top spot in Mexican bullfighting. Along with Eloy Cavazos and Curro Rivera, Martinez had dominated Mexico during the late sixties and for the remainder of the seventies and well into the eighties. I identified with Rivera most. He was youthful, had a family history and was exciting to watch. Eloy was too predictable. His height was always a concern but he managed to execute the same blueprint faenas with toros every weekend. It got boring really fast to a young impressionable maletilla. Martinez on the other hand was a mystery. He was dominate, but older. He was limited phyically because of his age and build but yet I never really saw him tossed. To me, Manolo was also predictable and had a limited répertoire. Maybe it was a Monterey thing both he and Eloy. So my point being, to my untrained eye who saw value in Rivera deservedly so, but I also liked the styles of Manolo Arruza and Mariano Ramos, I totally missed the boat on Manolo Martinez. In seeing the video I found on YouTube (below), I now see and realize what kind of torero Martinez was. He was a master. His limited limited répertoire as I saw it was indeed a display of his total grasp and concept of each toro he faced. He had more influence on my preferences than I realized at the time. A good friend of mine once told me my style of Toreo de Salon and what I displayed in tentaderos resemebled that of Martinez. He told me I fought with an “estilo Regiomontano”. This blew me away. But it made sense. The whole time I attended corridas and favored other toreros, I subconsciously absorbed all I saw of Manolo Martinez. Please review this extraordinary video and join me in celebrating Manolo Martinez’ contribution to Mexican Bullfight history. QEPD.
I’m enjoying this series of posts on Traje de Luces. Many examples of torero’s styles and preferences have gone untold and it provides DBB with plenty of material to comment on. In writing the last post, I was reminded of Jerezano Juan José Padilla’s collection of unique trajes. Truley a torero who is “siempre en torero”, Padilla is a minimalist in style who does not hesitate to reach back and borrow style and influences from Cúchares and Domingín. From retro Monteras to partiendo plaza with draped Capotes de Paseo, Padilla’s designs don’t ask for much interpetation. Simple and floral, Padilla’s bordados are minimal in design. Padilla is a tremendista. He will do it all, from receiving his toros a Porta Gayola to grabbing the cuernos as a desplante. He is however a great banderillero. I’ve seen Padilla a couple of times, and although his style does not appeal to me, his investment in his appearance and skill with the palitroques I do appreciate.
