Remembering Rafael de Paula
Mid-height derechazo (Aranjuez, 1988)
As I’ve written in ‘Toros & Toreros’, Rafael Soto Rafael de Paula (whose death at the age of 85 has just been announced) was a torero you generally had to seek out rather than expect to come across. It took six years following his Ronda alternativa for the Jerez gypsy to first perform in Sevilla’s La Maestranza and then a further eight years went by before his alternativa was confirmed in Madrid’s Las Ventas. A memorable performance in Madrid’s other plaza of Vista Alegre five months later saw him contracted for 40 corridas in 1975, but he never had so many in a year after that. He was always inconsistent, and a percance in Bayonne in 1978 seriously damaged a knee, which, together with congenital degeneration of the patellar cartilage in both knees, impaired his mobility and affecting his confidence when facing bulls.
De frente natural (Jerez, 1985)
I was delighted to discover that a trip I’d planned to Andalucía in 1985 could include Jerez’s ‘Corrida del Arte’, which that year featured Curro Romero, de Paula and Espartaco with bulls of Juan Pedro Domecq. Following a decent opening faena from Curro, Rafael produced what I recorded as “possibly the finest verónicas I’ve ever seen”, but his attempts with the muleta faltered on an increasingly suspicious bull. His second faena was a typically erratic affair. After a tentative start, Rafael broke away from the bull to wash his hands, after which he returned to his task with enthusiasm. Sometimes he tried too hard, as in a rather awkward molinete, but his naturales were pases de cartel and he downed the bull with a single estocada to win an ear.
Rafael de Paula was no escuela taurina product. He was a unique artista, each pass, whether good or bad, imbued with his personality. The only other time I saw anything like a complete lidia from him was at Aranjuez in 1988. Troubles with my camera prevented me from enjoying his performance completely, but Rafael produced superb capotazos and muletazos, the latter with great temple towards the faena’s end. A pinchazo and estocada cost him the ear, Rafael taking saludos to an ovation.
Standing verónica (Alcalá de Henares, 1995) and, below, a half-kneeling verónica (Gijón, 1978, just before his Bayonne percance)
When I saw de Paula after that, it became routine to look forward to the opening verónicas, but to expect very little subsequently. As he aged with his knee troubles, his swordwork worsened further, and I once saw him receive three avisos in two successive corridas and leave Las Ventas under a hail of cushions. The final ignominy occurred at Jerez’s May feria of 2000, when Rafael, once again trying hard on home ground, impressed with his toreo only to see both his animals returned alive to the corrales after he had failed to kill them in the allotted time. In tears, he snatched off his coleta and threw it to the ground. Although the next day he denied this gesture meant he was retiring, he never fought bulls in public again.
De Paula perfilando with an air of uncertainty (Alcalá de Henares, 1995) and, below, the matador and his cuadrilla leaving Las Ventas under police protection in 1997. Note the resigned look on the face of the arenero sitting on the estribo.
