Albacete, September 16: That end of feria feeling

Albacete’s bullring at night, after the corridas have ended

Today’s was actually the penultimate corrida of Albacete’s 2025 feria, but it followed on from El Cid’s great triumph yesterday, the veteran coming in to the feria as a substitute, only to deliver the best faena of the series, and it had the feel of the morning after the night before. The jandillas were bland figura fodder: Tomás Rufo’s first bull caused excitement by making a break for the picador at one point and crashing into the horse (and would have done so again had Rufo not put a stop to its natural behaviour and asked for a change of tercio), but otherwise it was all fairly predictable stuff…

Daniel Luque headed the cartel and began oddly with some stilted feet-together capotazos, looking somewhat disengaged. However, things improved when he had the muleta in his hands, Daniel executing decent passes to the right and the left, albeit somewhat linear. A well-placed but shallow estocada possibly lost him the ear; he took saludos to an ovation while the bull was taken out to palmas.

Emilio de Justo, on next, was disappointing. After little opening capework and a protested lengthy vara, Emilio produced a quite of chicuelinas, closed with a poor media verónica. In the faena, he managed linked series, but kept the bull at a distance and allowed it to charge in a straight line and catch the cloth. A pinchazo and media estocada heralded a lengthy dying, the bull getting back to its feet after four stabs by the puntillero before finally collapsing on its forelegs. Silence ensued.

Tomás Rufo’s first bull was the keen horse charger and was the recipient of an excellent tercio de banderillas from Andrés Revuelta and Fernando Sánchez. Rufo got down on his knees for the start of the faena, but only remained there for two passes. The toledano was uncomfortable in the remates, losing his balance at one point and falling in front of the bull, which was fortunately more concerned with exploring Rufo’s dropped muleta. The matador tried for some arrimón before the faena’s end, but the bull was finished. Tomás executed his estocada well, but it was a bajonazo, leading to more silence.

Fortunately, there was some improvement after the merienda break. Although Daniel Luque’s 475-kilo jandilla was whistled for its appearance, it took part in a long quite of several chicuelinas and then played its part in a very good faena by the sevillano featuring excellent series of derechazos and naturales before being ‘crowned’ with a superb sequence of luquesinas, Luque close to the bull throughout, ended with a mighty pase de pecho. A pinchazo prior to the estocada (and possibly a long death by the bull) denied Daniel two ears, the crowd settling for the president’s award of one.

Emilio de Justo’s second faena, following on from some more exasperating unformed, retreating capework from the extremeño, was very much a case of de menos a mucho más. From giving further distant passes at the start of the faena, Emilio settled and closer linked series and greater fluidity and dexterity became the norm. By the end, de Justo was giving de frente derechazos sin ayuda, manoletinas and magnificent chest passes. Another short torero, Emilio did well to get a half-sword in to his tall opponent, and that sufficed. Many in the crowd petitioned for a second ear, but the president stuck at one.

Unfortunately, there was no such resurrection for Tomás Rufo. His second jandilla never looked promising despite the initial verónicas and revolera, and the faena to a tricky animal that lifted Rufo off the ground at one point was nothing more than patchy. Tomás killed with a half sword and descabello, with both bull and matador receiving silence.