The bull Langosto and the picador Puchano, an exciting fight

The morning’s ovation went, well deservedly, to a picador. Quite a news, considering the disastrous current state of the tercio de varas. Afternoon after afternoon, the aficionado watches resignedly a shameful sham. The bulls are almost never placed correctly, they are almost always poorly picado and the punishment is not measured… Not to mention the armored monsters the picadors ride, or the lack of commitment and bravery shown by bulls selected almost exclusively for the muleta.

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The tercio de varas has almost become history… but not in France. In arenas like Vic-Fezensac it is the center of the spectacle. It is not always done correctly, but it has nothing to do with what happens in the vast majority of Spanish arenas. As an example, the number of thrusts the bulls took in the contest bullfight this Sunday: 21. Quite a number.

But, without a doubt, the best tercio de varas of the morning was performed by the bull Langosto, from Dolores Aguirre, and the picador Francisco Ponz Puchano, from Román’s team. In reality, more than a tercio de varas, it was a fight. An extremely exciting power struggle. Already on the first thrust, Dolores’ bull, of great seriousness and presence, almost unseated the picador, fighting with its head held very high. There remained poor Puchano, precariously perched on the horse’s neck.

He fared worse on the second charge. This time, he ended up on the ground; well, specifically, slammed against the boards, holding onto the stirrup and keeping the stick planted on Langosto, who got angry at the mount, fixed and low, in a scene to remember. Once again the picador bit the ground after his lance broke in a new clash with Langosto. Dolores’ bull came at him five times, the last from a great distance, although it finally showed that it had breed, not bravery.

In the last charges, it blatantly came out loose and continued to shy away at different moments of the fight. It doesn’t matter; there was emotion and truth there. Safe and sound after the tough fight, Puchano left amid a clamorous ovation and with music playing.

And that was the end of the story, as Román was not willing to risk it like his varilarguero. The Valencian got lost in trials, trapped by distrust, facing an animal without commitment that kept measuring. Román did not face the difficult one, but neither the good one. And that is more serious. Against the good second bull, from La Quinta, of noble breed, that lowered its head and had quality, Román was vulgar and detached, never syncing.

His companions were no better, especially Sánchez Vara. Except for some good pairs of banderillas left in both turns, he never really got in place and blatantly abused the advantages. To make matters worse, he thought of nothing else but to take a lap of the ring (amid protests) after wasting the more than interesting first bull from Saltillo, which he brought down with a thrust. A serious, fixed, and bred bull that deserved much more. He was less flattering, of course, with the difficult fourth, a sharp but pierced specimen from Benítez Cubero, who moved defensively.

Isaac Fonseca had less luck. The third, a beautiful ‘pablorromero’ from Partido de Resina, pushed bravely in varas, but arrived exhausted to the last tercio; and the sixth, another fine bull from Pages Mailhan, gave up early before stopping.

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The bullfight lasted almost three hours. Three hours that the fans spent under a blazing sun and stifling heat. But no one moved. They had to claim the luck of varas, the integrity and authenticity of the fiesta… even at the risk of fainting.