Today’s bullfighting has neither age restrictions nor memory

Carlos Crivell

(Image from lancesmaestranza.com)

There’s some agreement among analysts in stating that the bullfighting hierarchy is ageing and urgently needs rejuvenation. The time of the saying “the five-year-old bull and the 25-year-old bullfighter” [as being the best age combination for toreo] has passed. Currently, the average age of bullfighters has risen significantly. In an analysis of the ages of bullfighters participating in the Sevilla April Fair, from the Resurrection corrida to the Miura one, quite curious data is obtained.

Of the 28 announced matadores de toros, 21 (75%) are 30 years old or older. A large majority are over 30. And 13 of them (46.4%) are over 35 years old. Moreover, seven matadors (25%) are 40 or older.

The most veteran matador of the Feria is Manuel Jesús El Cid (52 years old), followed by Diego Urdiales (50), Morante de la Puebla (46), Manzanares (44), Emilio de Justo (43), Miguel Ángel Perera (42), and Manuel Escribano (41).

Only three of the announced matadors are under 25 years old - Fabio Jiménez, Aarón Palacio and Javier Zulueta. These three toreros are also the youngest in terms of their time post-alternativa, as all three will be in their second year as matadors, although in practical terms this will be their first full season in the top rank.

Without any doubt, these data tell us of a veteran escalafón, and it’s true that it’s necessary to refresh this group of matadors who still occupy the main positions in the ferias. I recall that Diego Puerta, a great figura, retired from the bullrings when he was 33 years old in 1974 - an exceptional case, but a very significant one.

Another topic would be to explain how bullfighters over 40 years old are still active today. There is not a single cause. The bullfighting business keeps them in situ for particular interests while no strong replacements for substitution are foreseen. This is the state of bullfighting today. On the one hand, those called to regenerate la Fiesta have to sit on the bench for a long time. And when they stand out, they suffer vetoes from the powers that be, as Borja Jiménez, or even Daniel Luque, can attest. If someone gets distracted, as in the case of Ginés Marín, they are sent to unemployment. Some veterans are generally ignored, despite being very good toreros, as happens with Diego Urdiales. And the same people as always continue in the best line-ups. It’s clear that bullfighting no longer has age restrictions or memory.

[This is a translation of an article that originally appeared on sevillatoros.es - TW]