Populist triumph of Roca Rey on a historic ‘Sold Out’ afternoon in Bilbao

Peruvian bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey today cut two ears with a populist tone in the fourth of the General Bullfights of Bilbao, on an afternoon when a historic ‘Sold Out’ was recorded at the Vista Alegre ticket offices and which ended marred by strong wind and the lack of breed and strength of the Victoriano del Río bulls.

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The South American’s triumph was based almost exclusively on an effective bullfighting style with which, lacking other resources, he gave reasons to applaud the enthusiastic and festive crowd that filled the Bilbao stands, something that had not happened in this arena for exactly fifteen years, with Enrique Ponce and El Juli on the bill.

In reality, that version of his bullfighting, supported by the overused final charge, passes behind the back, and some other display, was the only way Roca could recover, between the strong wind that blew all afternoon, and the lack of breed and strength, which, like the entire set of the Madrid-based ranch’s bulls, had its share.

The first ear was thus awarded for a third bull that soon began to tire, almost from the quite by saltilleras that the Lima bullfighter performed and which was the prelude to a muleta performance in which, to prevent its intentions to leave the passes, he covered much of the animal’s face with the muleta from the placement on the horn’s shoulder.

They were, therefore, amid many pauses caused by the wind, barely half passes that did not find the echo that the final resource of the charge and the inverted circular passes had, which provoked such excessive enthusiasm among the audience that they even asked for two ears, which the presidency, wisely, left at one.

The sixth, as skewed as the previous one, seemed to want to run away at the start of the performance in which Roca also passed it behind the back with both knees on the ground, until, already standing, ready to bullfight with the right hand, the Victoriano del Rio bull blatantly began to head towards the boards.

After several futile attempts to dissuade it, it had to be in the areas where the bull sought refuge that Roca chose to resort again to the effects that were so cheered and culminated when entering to kill, when he threw the muleta to the ground and entered citing with a bare body, confident in the bull’s tendency towards the boards, to deliver in a spectacular way the sword thrust with which he secured that second trophy.

Diego Urdiales wanted to bullfight with more purity and more straightforwardly all afternoon, whom the audience called out to salute for his triumph in the last edition of the fair, before the first bull of the afternoon came out, a bull with volume and serious build but without strength in the hindquarters.

That defect caused the bull to weaken already upon leaving the third of the lances, only that the patience and composure of the veteran bullfighter from La Rioja settled and disillusioned it so that, at least, it provided a few half starts in which Urdiales held it with quality, although without managing to raise a performance that before seemed unthinkable.

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And that same formula—pulse, composure, good technique, rhythm, and timely pauses—was what the bullfighter had to apply with the fourth, a bull of fine but very serious build although very weak in the loins, to get a handful of good natural passes that were too loose and sealed with a sword thrust of exemplary execution.

For his part, Alejandro Talavante was almost unnoticed in Bilbao, as he did no more than handle himself with neutral correctness with a second bull of quality but with little energy that soon ran out, and he shortened, almost by force, with a very skewed fifth that defended itself and repeatedly lost its footing lacking a muleta with greater composure in front of it.