Great competition in takedowns

The third of the “quites” that took place during the fight of the second bull is already featured on the frontispiece of this Isidril fair. Surprising, on one hand, because it is not common for two bullfighters to challenge each other to a brave duel in an era of kisses and hugs, and forgive me if I have disturbed you, maestro; and very bullfighting-like because it was full of bravery, variety, and elegance on the part of both bullfighters.

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It all began when Víctor Hernández stepped forward to intervene in the first bull of David de Miranda, and he shone with some “saltilleras” that choked more than one due to the bull’s greed, the long-distance cite, and the closeness of the encounter. His partner responded with some tight “chicuelinas” and a long one full of flavor. When it seemed the duel was over, Hernández asked De Miranda for permission to return to the bull’s face and drew a “quite” with “tafalleras,” and his partner, stung in his pride, responded with some “gaoneras” that ended up putting the audience on their feet, seized by the tremendous emotion that had sprung up in the ring. The two bullfighters shook hands, and there remained a very bullfighting-like sequence for the annals of this and many fairs.

Next, the bullfighter from Huelva took the muleta and gave a lecture on the importance of courage in bullfighting. He began with some very tight “estatuarios,” followed by three uneven series of “redondos” due to the animal’s tendency to drop its head at the end of the passes. Until then, the bull’s greed and the bullfighter’s total commitment prevailed. The performance did not reach higher peaks because the animal got tired, which did not prevent some final “bernadinas,” again crossing the line of imminent danger. He killed badly, with a low thrust, despite which he walked away with an ear protested by the audience. In the fifth, Víctor del Pozo shone with the banderillas, but not De Miranda because the bull was slow and timid, with no disposition for the fight.

Víctor Hernández looks like he dresses in lights to sweep away, to be someone important in this profession, and he certainly tries to prove it at all times. He has unquestionable courage, plants his feet, positions himself in the right places, and quickly connects with the stands. He never misses a “quite,” and forgets his body in front of the bull. Such a bullfighter is destined to succeed. He did not achieve it with his first, a soft and dull bull, without grace and colorless, with which he could only be neat. Nor with the sixth, an animal with more mobility and greed, despite his tremendous effort. Perhaps he was betrayed by the desperate search for victory at all costs, and his entire work lacked the calm and command demanded by his opponent. In the end, everything felt rushed, like an impossible sigh to savor. Hopefully, these are just the rushes of youth, because he has plenty of potential to become a great bullfighter.

Finally, it is impossible at this point to know the medium-term future of Fortes, a bullfighter who has already completed 15 years of alternative and who has had so far a career marked by very serious accidents that cut short his firm conditions for stardom. But, recovered, mature, and with clear ideas, he presents himself as a man perfumed with bullfighting spirit that spreads throughout the plaza from the moment he steps into the ring. It is the way of walking in front of the bull, the elegance and solemnity that his way of bullfighting exudes, it is his determined effort to pursue purity.

Today he did not triumph because he got entangled with his second bull, of dull behavior, in a heavy and endless work, and because he has not yet learned to kill, a fundamental subject in this profession, but he left a scent of bullfighter that remained impregnated in the stands.

All this happened with the bull that opened the plaza, noble and with a fine thread of life, which did not prevent him from leaving costly flashes of good bullfighting low down at the start of the work with the muleta and with both hands afterward; especially with the left, with which he drew three superb natural passes, long, deep, beautiful, very smooth, that made Las Ventas get goosebumps. There remained the expression of pure bullfighting of a man destined for great goals who, by bad luck, his own limitations, and accidents, has not yet reached them.

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