Madrid’s upcoming Feria de Otoño will see two important confirmaciones de alternativa that will have a bearing on each of the participants’ 2027 temporada.

The first confirmación to occur will be that of the 18-year-old wunderkind Marco Pérez on October 3. The decision of the Salamancan’s management not to enter him in the capital’s San Isidro feria earlier in the year appears to have been justified as the torero’s performances have strengthened in recent months.

Following his Nîmes alternativa in June last year, Pérez’s initial season as a matador de toros was mainly confined to third class plazas, although he did achieve two-ear faenas at Salamanca (twice), Istres, Huelva, Murcia, and twice more at Nîmes’ September feria. This year, in a season that has taken him to Colombia, Mexico and the Azores, as well as Spain and France, Marco’s performances have been growing in strength, with triumphs in recent weeks at Nîmes (in a six-bull encerrona), Murcia, Salamanca, Arles, Melilla, Bayonne and Linares (an indulto included), and an ear won at Bilbao. At the time of writing, he is lying eighth in the European escalafón with 85 ears and four tails from 43 corridas, with only Roca Rey and David de Miranda having higher numbers of trophies to their names. Pérez’s toreo is currently rather rapid, but there is no doubting his abilities, nor the variety he brings to his toreo, all remarkable for one so young..

The second confirmación will be that of the zaragozano Aarón Palacio at the hands of Morante de la Puebla on October 12 (a corrida that will be streamed by Telemadrid). Aarón is currently 24th in the escalafón, with a tally of 31 ears and two tails from 16 corridas. Although he didn’t participate in San Isidro, his temporada has been based mainly on appearances in first and second-class plazas, with ears cut at Castellón, Sevilla, Nîmes, Pamplona, Teruel, Santander, Huesca, Valladolid and Guadalajara. A serious-looking 21-year-old, Palacio has a classical concept of toreo with both capote and muleta.

Although Palacio is tipped for big things, the extent to which the mundillo has opened up to him this year remains uncertain (in comparison, say, with Roca Rey’s first season as a matador), so his appearance in Madrid could well prove crucial to the number of corridas he is offered for 2027. Marco Pérez already looks to have a reasonably busy 2027 ahead of him, but success in Las Ventas would boost his standing still further and perhaps propel him into the higher echelons of the escalafón in the year ahead.

Much has been made of the increasing numbers of young people attending corridas, with some commentators claiming it is one more sign of the public’s increasing drift to the political Right in Spain. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that as much of a draw, if not more so, is the emergence of young matadors after years of the ferias being filled with the same old names. Pérez and Palacio are at the forefront of this new wave, and their presence in ferias undoubtedly draws people of their age and younger to the bullrings. Both matadors have also featured in popular events away from the bullrings that have been geared towards the young.

Both young matadors (as with Marco Pérez below) have captured the imaginations of Spain’s youth and bring young people to the plazas

Two important confirmations

Diego Urdiales - King of the North