Dr. Jose Z. Garcia
The bullfight season in Cd. Juárez ended with performances--more solid than the two-ear total would indicate--by Miguel Espinoza Armillita, Rafael Ortega, and Jose Maria Luévano. The Begoña bulls were small (only one topped 500 kilos) and slightly lethargic, but characteristically tenacious. All had closed horns, making them less dangerous. On the first bull, named Treintaynueve, veteran Miguel Espinoza Armillita (ranked sixth in Mexico last year) gave a lesson in temple (tempo) as he slowed the bull down with classic veronicas; in the third tercio he performed several rounds of natural passes, each capped off with a strong pase de pecho. One series held for 9 natural passes, including one redondo. It was one of the best-paced performances of the season. But Armillita failed to find the mark for the kill until his third try and thus lost his chance for an ear.
On the second bull, Juarense, Rafael Ortega (ranked tenth last year) began with a fine set of veronicas and performed a memorable desquite on a bull that had been pic'ed well. Given the bull's name, it was no surprise when the crowd booed until Ortega agreed to place his own banderillas, which he did well, placing one six-inch-long pair near the barrera. He started the last tercio on his knees for four passes and a pase de pecho still on his knees. Several sets of natural passes followed, right handed and left handed, as he worked closer to the horns. The kill was sound, on the first try, and as the bull was dying Ortega gently rubbed its forehead just before it fell. Two ears; genuine applause.
The third episode was flawed by the matador's lack of mastery of tempo and by the judge's choice not to award an ear. Tricolor, a small (470 kilos) grey bull came out charging everything in sight, but Jose Maria Luévano (36th last year) performed only three passes with his cape before the picador's took over. After a strong pic the bull clearly slowed but it charged the same horse again and again until the judge ordered banderillas. A desquite by Luévano proved that Tricolor had not been ruined. Banderillas were mediocre. Luévano then had trouble establishing temple, unwittingly revealing how difficult this can be. He finally chose to rely on bravery instead of technique to get the audience energized, but the bull, head near the ground on a pass, got a horn between his legs, forcing the matador to kick up a leg and hop sideways to avoid collision. Perhaps unnerved by this incident, he suddenly profiled for the kill in the middle of a set of passes, and was lucky to get a strong kill. In most arenas a clean kill on a solid bull will get you an ear, but Judge Ramirez, clearly bothered by the matador's lack of skill in other areas, elected not to do so.
The problem with this decision was that it set an arbitrarily high threshold for the rest of the afternoon. On the very next bull Espinoza also had a solid kill on his first try, with a chestnut- colored bull, Mayor, that was damaged by an overly aggressive picador and poorly placed banderillas. The matador compensated by coaxing out a few acceptable passes and a couple of adornos. Then, after thrusting in the sword on the kill, but before the bull fell, Armillita demonstrated his understanding of bulls. He held off other toreros, walked up to Mayor holding one hand in the air, and then lowered it in a final gesture a fraction of a second before the bull collapsed. Again, in most arenas, a certain ear; but again, none was awarded. This was slightly insulting to Mexico's sixth-ranking bullfighter, and it embarrassed the crowd, but at least it was consistent with the judge's previous verdict; had he granted Armillita an ear it would have made him appear highly prejudiced against Luévano, a much younger matador (he received his alternativa only last year) who had killed just as well.
R. Ortega's second bull, Patriota, was reluctant to charge; the judge, after setting such high standards, should have ordered the bull removed. It finally charged a horse, was overly pic'ed, and then banderillas were placed poorly. Ortega didn't even try a series of passes, just short, choppy motions designed to lower the neck. It took him seven tries to kill the bull; all in all a cynical performance for the matador who won Mexico's Oreja de Oro award for bullfighting last year.
On the last bull, Campanero (527 kilos) Luévano improved, initiating a fast, albeit jerky, pace that still fell short of the close rapport between matador and bull implied by the term temple. He did perform the best adorno of the afternoon, holding the bull's horn for a lengthy two or three seconds, capped by a pase de pecho at close range, and a few other flourishes. The kill looked to be soundly executed, but when the bull failed to collapse Luévano was forced to finish with a descabello, at which he is not highly skilled.
The Cd. Juarez bullfighting season, which begins on Easter Sunday and ends on Labor Day weekend, this year consisted of ten bullfight afternoons, two more than Juarez has had for many years. The bulls, from Mexico's top ganaderias, have been consistently good. Many of the top- ranking matadors in Mexico made appearances, including Eloy Cavazos, Manolo Mejía, Fernando Ochoa, Miguel Espinoza, Leonardo Benítez, Rafael Ortega, and Arturo Manzur. At a national level, bullfighting fans were saddened in August by the announcement of the death, from a liver ailment, of Manolo Martinez who was Mexico's finest matador in the early 1970s.