2026 Feria de San Isidro - Week 3
Diego Urdiales achieved the second Madrid Puerta Grande of his career on May 28 (Image from Plaza1)
After the relative lull in the programming of its second week, San Isidro picked up momentum in Week 3. The opening attractive cartel of Fortes, David de Miranda and Víctor Hernández with Alcurrucén bulls was to be followed by a corrida of bulls from Pedraza de Yeltes, suppliers of the best bull of last year’s feria, and Roca Rey’s feria debut, while the week’s last corrida de toreo a pie featured Alejandro Talavante, who’d gone out through the Puerta Grande on the Feria’s opening day.
May 24
David de Miranda in a close bernadina (Image from Plaza1)
David de Miranda was today’s triunfador, winning an ear after a long lidia of his first alcurrucén that included competition en quites between the onubense and Víctor Hernández, Víctor performing saltilleras and tafalleras and David chicuelinas and gaoneras. The faena was begun with estatuarios, a pase de firma and a chest pass before de Miranda moved on to linked derechazos, interrrupted by a horn blow to the matador’s stomach and desarme. The naturales were of variable quality in comparison, but there were some very close passes on either hand performed with the feet together and a final series of bernadinas in which David had to adjust his body to avoid collisions. An estocada caída brought a deserved ear. David showed his valor again in his second faena when he was tripped giving mondeñinas, but returned for three more. This faena never quite took off, however, and was ended with a pinchazo and estocada. Today’s alcurrucenes were generally good, but demanding. Víctor Hernández drew the worst two of the string, his first animal being weak and his second not keen to come to the cloth. Fortes, today’s opening matador, could perhaps have got more from his first bull if he’d kept the muleta in the animal’s face in between passes. The malagüeño also based both of his faenas on the right hand, when his animals tended to charge more cleanly on the left. As with Hernández’s, both his performances ended to silence, so one of the most attractive carteles of the Feria could be said to have under-delivered.
May 26
Julio Méndez - the third novillero this San Isidro to go out through the main gate (Image from Plaza1)
After today, historians were reaching back to the 1950s to recall a time when San Isidro featured such successful novilladas, each one in this year’s feria having delivered a Puerta Grande triumph. This time, it was the abulense Julio Méndez (due to take the alternativa at Cáceres on May 31) who achieved the honour, winning a merited two ears from his first novillo and narrowly failing to add a third oreja after his second. Julio’s opening Conde de Mayalde bull looked promising, pushing the picador’s horse up against the boards, although doubts were sown when it suffered two volteretas early in the faena. The novillero got down on his knees for derechazos and a risky cambio de espalda, then stood for an excellent series of linked derechazos crowned with a pase de pecho and a desdén. In a long faena, Julio produced more derechazos, trincheras, linked naturales, molinetes, feet-together naturales and sweeping pases de pecho. After collecting the estoque, Méndez gave his novillo bernadinas, switching the muleta in the first two passes, and a superb closing natural. An estocada caída brought an utterly deserved two ears, while the president decided to also the novillo, ‘Babieco’, a vuelta en arrastre as well. With his second bull, Julio had to throw himself on the ground when he tried to pass it a portagayola. A pinchazo and estocada, together with this novillo’s lack of ‘Babieco’’s staying power, lost Méndez any chance of a third ear.
Mexican Emilio Osornio impressed with his torería (Image from Plaza1)
Méndez’s triumph wasn’t the only happening of note in this novillada as the Mexican Emilio Osornio impressed many with his classical approach to toreo and his finely executed muletazos, particularly on his second bull, when perhaps only his tendency to be protracted with the sword lost him an ear. Today’s other espada, Pedro Montaldo, despite facing the second and fifth novillos, was the least experienced of the three, this being only his third novillada con picadores despite first appearing with the horsemen in 2024. His greeness showed.
May 27
Today’s pedrazas proved too much for all the toreros, Isaac Fonseca included (Image from Plaza1)
We had another interesting cartel this afternoon, with Pedraza de Yeltes bulls for a young turno of Isaac Fonseca, José Fernando Molina and Jarocho. The Mexican drew two difficult animals and misjudged an opening pass to his second bull, being tossed violently. He killed well to earn an ovation on his first pedraza, but received silence at the end of his second faena, when numerous attempts were made with the descabello. Molina, tall in comparison with his fellow matadors, faced difficulties too, his first bull lacking transmission and his second raising its head at the end of passes. Jarocho drew praise from some critics with his naturales, his first bull perhaps being the best of the string, while his second would only permit single muletazos. The pedrajas were true to form, being large and impressively horned and good to the picadors, but more problematic in their faenas.
May 28
Diego Urdiales went out the Puerta Grande after a superb exhibition of his classical toreo that included some scintillating verónicas (Image from Plaza1)
A fine string from Juan Pedro Domecq brought successful appearances from two of today’s matadors. The veteran Diego Urdiales cut an ear from each of his bulls to leave on shoulders through the Puerta Grande of Las Ventas. The riojano created some superb verónicas to his opening bull, reproducing them in a quite. In the faena, he was soon giving linked derechazos, moving on to execute naturales, albeit in more singular form. He killed with an estoconazo to win an ear. Diego gave more great verónicas to his second bull. Beginning the faena, dedicated to the public, with toreo de poder and an excellent trincherazo, Urdiales went on to produce more superb muletazos on either hand, especially when the cloth was kept low, and another estoconazo sealed his afternoon and opened up the Puerta Grande. It was his second such exit, and one which a number of commentators claimed was a triumph of toreo clasíco in front of today’s younger audience.
Determined to rise above the taunts of Tendido 7, Andrés Roca Rey cut an ear on his second juanpedro (Image from Plaza1)
With King Felipe in attendance for this Corrida de la Prensa (technically, Andrés Roca Rey’s only San Isidro appearance as la Beneficencia on June 14 falls outside the Feria), the Peruvian No.1 was determined to win his annual battle with the occupants of Tendido 7. The result was probably a draw after his first juanpedro, the whistles beginning in his first tanda of derechazos, but Andrés determinedly crossing for some naturales to a bull that was not keen to return to the lure, and killing well. The win came on his second bull, Roca Rey giving it some fine verónicas (feet together in the opening series and a compás in the quite) and a media verónica before dedicating to the public. Andrés began the faena on his knees, the series including two cambios de espalda, winning immediate applause. The bull was weak on its front legs but noble, playing its part in linked derechazos and naturales (most of the latter ayudados), molinetes and pases de pecho. A lengthy faena brought an aviso before the estoque was collected and Roca Rey killed with a pinchazo and estocada caída before most of the crowd petitioned successfully for an ear.
The Mexican Bruno Aloi confirmed the alternativa and showed well with the capote, but less so with the muleta after drawing the two worst bulls of the encierro.
May 29
The Garcigrande corrida was a big disappointment, with three bulls returned to the corrales (Image by Javier Arroyo for Aplausos)
Today’s garcigrandes were hugely disappointing, with half the encierro sent back to the corrales as unfit for the lidia. On an extremely boring afternoon, Morenito de Aranda went in front of the toriles to meet his first bull a portagayola, then showed well with his right hand in the faena, only to be caught by the bull in naturales before killing it with a strong estocada, earning an ovation. His second lidia was similar - some fine capework, decent (albeit patchy) derechazos, but little with the left hand, and a good kill for another ovation. Alejandro Talavante’s first bull had little transmission, its matador going through the motions. Things improved to an extent with his second animal, a Torrealta sobrero, the extremeño starting the faena on his knees and later on producing some lovely cambios de mano and naturales. The plaza was divided, with Tendido 7 criticising the matador but the bulk of the plaza supportive, and an estocada killed the bull and led on to a disputed ear for its matador. Pablo Aguado received two silences. The sevilllano showed well with the capote on his first bull, which proved too weak for a decent faena. The weary spectators urged him to keep short the faena to a Torrealta sobrero he was passing at mid-height. Which he did.
May 30
Diego Ventura in action (Image from Plaza1)
With two Portuguese men and a Frenchwoman on today’s rejoneo cartel, it was Diego Ventura who came out best, achieving his 20th puerta grande at Las Ventas after winning two ears on his second María Guiomar Cortés de Moura bull. Ventura excelled with two rejones de cástigo, banderillas (one placed without his horse’s bridle) and the rejón de muerte. Lea Vicens also killed her first animal first time, the president awarding an ear from a borderline petition, while Rui Fernandes received palmas and an ovation on his two bulls.