Once again, the Pentecost Feria is made up only of cartels with the beloved bulls of the figuras. A guarantee of quality and an imperative to attract stars, which many enthusiasts regret.
Juan Pedro Domecq, Garcigrande, Victoriano del Rio, Virgen Maria. These are the irons that will tread the sand of Nîmes for the four bullfights of the Feria de Pentecost. If the 2024 cartels were unanimously welcomed by the city’s bullfighting clubs and if the last stone of the amphitheater should find a buyer for the first two cartels, the only criticisms heard concern a new 100% Domecq Feria in the French arena. more prestigious.
The target of the passing public
A choice assumed by Simon Casas who defines himself as a producer of shows and, to fill the arenas, the presence of the most prestigious actors is imperative because the public has transformed over time. The circle of aficionados has shrunk and a passing public constitutes the majority and wants to see a star whether called Roca Rey, Ponce or Castella.
The number of old-time aficionados in the Region is easy to calculate. This is the Céret gauge, or around 3,500 spectators. It corresponds to paid entries when a tough bullfight is announced with specialists of the genre in Nîmes, Arles and Béziers. Regrettable? Obviously. But it will take in-depth work from professionals and bullfighting clubs to educate this episodic public to assimilate that bullfighting is a multifaceted art. Beyond that, the emotion caused by Roca Rey, the finesse of Ponce or the personality of Castella!
Multifaceted
Critics have focused on Simon Casas but his defenders can put forward two arguments. If Pentecost is reserved for the toros beloved of the figuras, the Harvest will put the spotlight on the Buendia de La Quinta and the Margé, a more demanding Domecq branch. They will also remind us that bullfighting will only have a future if the arenas fill up in the face of anti-bullfighting offensives. But can the leading French arena continue to program a single expression of such a rich art? Let’s eliminate, first of all, the clichés of the Domecq opponents. Would they be less dangerous for bullfighters? An ineptitude because no statistics prove that there are fewer injuries against these bulls than against the Miura or the Victorino Martin.
A bullfighter who wants to triumph cannot be satisfied with a defensive bullfighter as against the so-called tough ganaderias. The horns go to the millimeter and the “bad Domecq” can prove to be formidable as evidenced by the formidable Victoriano del Rio bullfight last October in Madrid. You exchange this iron on the thigh of the toro with Palha or Miura, and all the Toro aficion would have applauded with both hands to salute the demands of the cattle. They would also be less brave with a pike? Certainly true for the slightly embedded Domecq but toros from Fuente Ymbro, Jandilla or Victoriano del Rio regularly show exemplary ferocity under the iron. Often superior to so-called torist livestock where there are sometimes many encounters with the horse without the animal really being used. The subject is elsewhere. The first French arena must show the range of this multifaceted art. Jazz, rock, variety and rap are different expressions of musical culture. Just like abstract, cubism, impressionism and expressionism in painting.
Between bullfighters and bullfighters
We can therefore regret that Nîmes only shows one style of bullfighting and the aficionados split into two for Pentecost: the bullfighters in Gard, the bullfighters in Vic-Fezensac. This is not reprehensible in itself because each arena has its own identity. The perverse effect of this hegemony of Domecq, imposed by figuras for their quality and regularity, is the progressive disappearance of numerous breedings which constitute an irreversible loss of genetic heritage. Awareness is essential. The stars must make the effort to announce themselves against other types of bulls as Daniel Luque regularly does.
And the companies can announce irons of other casts tolerated by the figuras like the Buendia de La Quinta, the Nuñez d’Alcurrucen, the Lisardo-Sanchez du Puerto de San Lorenzo and Valdefresno or the more embedded branches of the Domecq like the “rabosos ” of El Pilar and Pedraza de Yeltes or, again, the Santiago Domecq and Margé and not to limit yourself to a handful of ganaderias. The less passionate public must understand that bullfighting is not a show where the result is guaranteed in advance.
