2026 Feria de San Isidro - Week 2

Sebastián Castella and ‘Cantaor’ during the latter’s vuelta en arrastre on May 22 (Image from Plaza1)

Looking ahead to San Isidro’s second week, my mind sensed some diminished interest in the festejos to come. But how would Fernando Adrián fare in his second Feria appearance after the mixed reception accorded his Puerta Grande last week? How would the Feria’s opening novillada go, or the Saltillo corrida, and would any of the leading toreros in the week’s last two corridas de toreo a pie taste success?

May 17

Another sold-out corrida, today brought a further strong showing from Fernando Adrián. The madrileño produced a faenón on his first Fuente Ymbro bull, which showed little in the capote until a quite de chicuelinas from Miguel Ángel Perera. Come the faena, however, Adrián soon had the bull running in tandas of fine derechazos. His naturales were less clean and fluid, but nevertheless series were achieved before Fernando returned the muleta to the right hand to bring off more excellent derechazos, with many faces in Tendido 7 looking quite glum while spectators in the other tendidos looked happy. A pinchazo and media estocada put paid to any trophies, and Fernando’s second bull (a Fuente Ymbro sobrero) was a tricky animal with a halting charge; the matador soon opted to dispatch. Both Perera (in his final feria appearance) and today’s other matador, Paco Ureña, seemed largely devoid of ideas, although the latter managed some decent series of derechazos on his first bull.

May 19

Julio Norte on his way to winning two ears this year in the 1st class plazas of Valencia, Sevilla, Córdoba and Madrid (Image from Plaza1)

The Salamancan novillero Julio Norte is carrying all before him this season, with exits on shoulders in the 1st class plazas of Valencia, Sevilla and Córdoba, and Madrid was to prove no exception, although the youngster was fortunate to be awarded an ear from a borderline petition after the lidia of his first novillo, killed with a bajonazo. This fuenteymbro was protested on entry for its poor trapío, but served for the faena, when Julio exhibited his customary valor, bringing off series of close estatuarios, derechazos and naturales and ending with four circulares invertidos. He said later he came out to face his second novillo determined to cut both its ears and prove himself after the uncertainty about the earlier ear award. This was certainly a stronger performance, begun with a larga cambiada de rodillas and verónicas. With the muleta, Norte began on his knees in the centre of the plaza to execute pases cambiados por la espalda, then stood for series of derechazos and naturales, keeping the cloth low. As he linked a pase de pecho, so the novillo caught him, throwing him high in the air, the novillero landing on his head. Julio quickly recovered from the tossing, however, for some closing short series and an estocada that brought a merited ear and the Puerta Grande.

An injured Mario Vilau leaves for the enfermería after an impressive afternoon (Image from Plaza1)

The novillero who impressed me most today, however, was the Catalan Mario Vilau, who won a deserved ear after creating a faena from poor material with his first novillo, which he met a portagayola. Come the faena, the bull had more nobleza than strength, but Mario (initially from his knees) managed to draw it through series of stretching, templados muletazos, the cloth kept low, before killing it with a fine estocada. His second novillo was a more difficult animal and hooked its right horn into Vilau’s left leg early in the faena. Mario, tourniquet applied, remained in the ring until the bull had been downed with an excellent estocada, then left for the infirmary, where a cornada grave that just missed the femoral artery was confirmed. Heading today’s bill was the Peruvian Pedro Luis, who showed good touches but had difficulties killing, particularly with his second animal where several pinchazos were given.

May 20

José Carlos Venegas with the opening Saltillo (Image from Plaza1)

After a fight in the corrales, five Saltillos made it through to today’s corrida, with the sixth place taken up by a bull of Couto de Fornilhos. Apart from the first animal, which unfortunately, being paired with José Carlos Venegas, was in the hands of the matador with the least recent experience of toreando, none of the bulls offered much in terms of toreo. Venegas won the only ovation of the day - apart from one given to the Feria’s star banderilleros, Iván García and Fernando Sánchez, who placed sticks together on the fourth bull - for his work with that first bull, while his second gave him no chance to shine. Frenchman Juan Leal tried hard with both his animals (one of them the Couto de Fornilhos entry), showing that he merited better carteles than this one, although his efforts were unappreciated by Tendido 7 and friends. The Colombian Juan de Castilla, in his first corrida after his disastrous appearance at the Feria del Aficionado, now had formerly favourable spectators voicing their discontent with him, and the efforts he did make with poor opponents were insufficient to bring his detractors round.

May 21

Pablo Aguado leaving the ring after hearing the third aviso on his first bull (Image from Plaza1)

Today was another disappointing afternoon of near-useless bulls, albeit less foreseeable than its predecessor, with three atanasios of El Puerto de San Lorenzo and three domecqs from the sister ganadería La Ventana del Puerto and the matadors José María Manzanares, Juan Ortega and Pablo Aguado realising the seventh ‘full house’ of the Feria. After two hours and 20 minutes and eight bulls, one of each of the titular ganaderías’ bulls being returned to the corrales after repeatedly falling (the sobreros from José Cruz and El Freixo were also ‘infumable’), a dissatisfied public trooped out of the plaza. In fact, three bulls were sent back to the corrales alive, as Pablo Aguado failed to kill his first bull within the allotted time and received three avisos and whistles. After the lidias of the other bulls, silence reigned. As the Cultoro website summed it up, “It was an empty corrida, without strength, without depth and without bravery, in which the two brands of El Puerto de San Lorenzo gave the feeling of being near their end.”

May 22

‘Cantaor’ shows its eagerness for Castella’s muleta (Image from Plaza 1)

Then along came a notable bull… Sebastián Castella drew the best of today’s Victoriano del Río bulls in the form of the fourth, ‘Cantaor’. The animal kept its head high in the opening capework, but charged well in las varas and the tercio de banderillas before unleashing enormous enthusiasm for chasing the lure in the faena, humillando now. Castella began the final tercio with a superb sequence of passes, cambiados por la espalda included, standing his ground in the centre of the ring. Terrific linked series of derechazos and naturales followed, the muleta kept low and the passes frequently extended. The matador closed an undoubted two-ear faena with bernadinas, switching the cloth from one side of his body to another. The sword was placed well, but in a pinchazo hondo, and the numerous attempts to descabellar that followed left Sebastián, whose first bull had provided few opportunities, distraught. A third aviso was narrowly missed and Castella was given a vuelta after ‘Cantaor’ was awarded a vuelta en arrastre. Emilio de Justo was another to hear two avisos, this on his second of two weak bulls. The extremeño had to work hard to link muletazos on his first victoriano: his second, come its faena, could offer very little. Tomás Rufo’s first bull was good on its left horn, but poor on its right, and the matador, criticised by some in the tendidos, couldn’t get enough from it for a success. His second, 626-kilo, bull was a better animal, Rufo bringing off some fine naturales before a desarme, after which the faena never returned to its previous form. The toledano’s killing continued to leave much to be desired, and another San Isidro has passed him by without the triumph he craves.

May 23

Andy Cartagena was the triunfador of today’s rejoneo show (Image Plaza1)

The first of the Feria’s two rejoneo events - and the ninth ‘no hay billetes’ of the series - saw a triumphal return to Las Ventas by Andy Cartagena after an absence of seven years. The veteran was denied an ear by the presidente after a majority petition closed his clean and accomplished lidia to the first of today’s Ángel Sánchez y Sánchez bulls; Cartagena took a vuelta instead. His work with his second bull was a more emotional affair, his horse ‘Bandolero’ being at the bull’s mercy at one point, and this time an ear was given despite two attempts with the rejón de muerte. Diego Ventura’s first was met with la garrocha a puertagayola, but proved very weak indeed. His second lidia was de menos a más, the Portuguese placing banderillas well (including one without using the reins) and accomplishing several impressively templados galopes al costado. He killed well to win an ear. Guillermo Hermoso de Mendoza worked hard on both his bulls, but had difficulties killing.