The Madrid subaltern Raúl Ruiz suffered a serious goring in his right thigh while trying to plant the second pair of banderillas on the sixth novillo of the afternoon. After showing off in the first, after enduring the animal’s gallop with courage, the novillo then came to the cite greedily and with many steps from a long distance, gained ground on the bullfighter, pressed fiercely in the encounter, and the banderillero had no time to get out of the bull’s face, which gave him a sharp blow, lifted him off the ground with the horn in his right thigh, and dropped him with a crash onto the sand. It was evident that Raúl Ruiz was injured; he himself tried to control the spurts of blood that were already staining his trousers. He was quickly taken to the infirmary, and the arena was left shaken.
Read more At least 7 dead and 27 injured in a bus accident in Nayarit
Everything happened during the fight of the last novillo of the afternoon, in the course of a boring event, in which only the debutant Álvaro Serrano stood out, brave, with ideas and the aura of a bullfighter, who ended up spoiling everything when killing the second novillo.
The six novillos fought in the first event of the Community Fair belonged to six Madrid ranches. So if these are part of the elite of the Madrid fighting cattle herd, and their breeders carefully chose their representatives to appear at Las Ventas, the Madrid bull has a problem.
Four of the six specimens that came out to the ring were poorly presented, very ugly in shape and comfortable in the head; and five of those fought shirked shamelessly in the first third. Only the fourth pushed with extreme strength against the horse, ridden by Carlos Pérez, and among the three they put on a beautiful show, uncommon in bullrings. But none of the six novillos offered quality in the final third; on the contrary, they wasted dullness, short travel, and poor style.
Only Álvaro Serrano could partially stand out for his firmness, aura, details of bullfighting, and good concept, although he spoiled everything when killing the fifth.
Before the main event, he showed in that novillo that he handles the deceits with skill, extends the chest passes, and muletas with calm despite the manifest dullness of his opponent. He risked everything before his first, of rough character, before whom he showed firmness and determination in linking the muletazos. Poor sword handling prevented him from carrying any trophy, but he was bid farewell with a great ovation, an unmistakable sign that it would be good to see him again.
His fellow cartel members were not very lucky. David López faced two very dull animals with no desire to fight. Neither the bullfighter nor his first opponent said anything in their encounter, both equally sad; the atmosphere did not improve in the fourth, of the same tenor, with a perhaps disappointed novillero faced with such null material for triumph.
The second debutant, Joel Ramírez, first faced a cart mule that backed into the boards and refused to charge; he went all out before the sixth, received it on his knees with the muleta in the third, stood gallantly, and stole some meritorious natural passes, but his courage was not confirmed in the supreme act.
Read more A claim for the power of the word against authoritarianism
In short, if these are the six leading ranches of Madrid, the problem has been left on the ring of the Las Ventas bullring.
Six ranches/López, Serrano, Ramírez
Novillos from six Madrid ranches: 1st from Guerrero y Carpintero; 2nd Caras Blancas de Carpio; 3rd Hnos. Sandoval; 4th Toros de Ayuso; 5th Ángel Luis Peña and 6th El Retamar, poorly presented and ugly in shape, except fifth and sixth, of better appearance; very shy, except the fourth, which pushed greedily in the first vara, very dull and without class.
David López: two pinches and rear estocada (silence); rear, low, and crossed estocada and two descabellos (silence).
Álvaro Serrano: pinch and somewhat dropped estocada (great ovation); two pinches _warning_ five pinches _second warning_ and a descabello (ovation).
Joel Ramírez: estocada with a stunning effect (ovation); crossed estocada that guards, pinch _warning_ and estocada (silence).
The subaltern Raúl Ruiz suffered a goring in the banderillas third of the sixth, and the medical report indicates that he has a bull horn wound with an entry hole on the inner face of the right thigh with a 25 cm outward trajectory that bruises the femoral artery and causes damage to the adductor muscles, vastus medialis, and rectus femoris, with an exit hole on the outer face of the middle right thigh. Serious prognosis.
Las Ventas bullring. May 1. First event of the Community Fair. Almost three quarters full (15,264 spectators, according to the company).