Autumn in Madrid. Day of blue Velazquez sky and noise, much, much political noise. And in La Mercè, a bullfighter from Montcada i Reixac, Serafín Marín, did the Paseíllo in Las Ventas, eight years after his last time there.
In 2002 he took the alternative in La Monumental, where he fought and triumphed many afternoons, and, when he played, he took his commitment from the bullring to the Parliament in his defense of bullfighting in Catalonia and also with demands as striking as doing the Paseíllo, precisely in Las Ventas, with a barretina for a montera and senyera as a walking cape.
For this reason, Serafín Marín returned to Madrid, twelve years - minus one day - after that afternoon, Mercè of 2011 in La Monumental in which (along with Juan Mora and José Tomás) he left on the shoulders of the crowd that carried them in a secular procession through the streets of the city at parties but without bulls, it had an added emotional bonus. Although, I'm afraid, many of those who occupied the Venteños stands - just over a third of the capacity covered, where are the fans? - either didn't know the story or didn't care.
For the occasion, a poster was announced headed by the Catalan bullfighter with Rubén Pinar from Albacete and Gómez del Pilar from Madrid, in the Bullfight Livestock Contest, a celebration in which the order in the fight and in particular the third of rods acquire a special dimension .
The Resin Party was the one that marked the return to Madrid of Serafín Marín. And at first he was scared when the bull did not obey his cape and came at him. Then he rocked the veronica and the finishing stocking had his that of him. He went ahead of the bull - competition bullfights require it - and he took two barely marked punches because the animal lacked strength, looking like an invalid.
This being the case and how the user decided to keep him in the ring and despite the nobility in the attacks and the fact that Serafín muttered with temperance and pleasure, especially for the left piton, the task lacked emotion. Even so, and two jabs prior to the thrust, Serafín received affectionate applause from the alley.
From Peñajara the fourth, very serious, dressed in finery and with spectacular antlers. And, again, magnificent bullfighting to the Veronica of the right-hander from Montcada i Reixac. He took Peñajara's first good blow, firmly pushing the breastplate; He thought about the second match but then he came with joy and, at Serafín Marín's request, he barely received any punishment, so he could enter for the third time, which is why we were in the Corrida Concurso.
He pointed to the picador at the top and went away to cheers. As Marcos Prieto and Diego Valladar also greeted after flagging with merit. With the audience expectant, sensing that great things could happen, Serafín toasted from the media, but... The bull did not at any time want to accept the challenge, right from the beginning of the work and left everyone frustrated, Serafín Marín being the first.
The lunge, entering straight, put an end to Serafín Marín's very serious performance on his two bulls. There was no triumph but there was a well-founded feeling that he deserves to be counted again in the offices.
That of Samuel Flores, first of Rubén Pinar's batch, skinny, horned and without fixity in his capes, showed meekness when he reached the third of rods. A condition that manifested itself even more when we reached the final third, in the form of attacks without delivery, passing, when he did so, by passing. With good judgment, Pinar abbreviated, also with the sword.
From José Escolar the fifth, who some protested on his way out, who knows why. It was up to Rubén Pinar and the first two thirds were a pure mess. On the muleta, the bull was reluctant to charge, Pinar extracted, based on good placement, some natural long lines, but without continuity.
The one from Escolar, increasingly standing still, did not give the slightest option and Pinar, dejected, went for the sword. In his first turn, Gómez del Pilar faced Victoriano del Río (replacement for the one announced from La Palmosilla), who was not exactly a paragon of beauty. Nor was the luck of rods.
But a couple of Gómez de Pilar's trenches at the opening of the job were beautiful. Crutch on the right, good pulse and command in round series that the bull took greedily. The naturals, long and bossy, rose up the fretboard, also when again on the right piton he strung together a series of magnificent expression, very excited. A prize task, which the sword took, but the final ovation recognized it.
Big guy from Pedraza de Yeltes who closed the celebration, Gómez del Pilar's second. In rods he took two regular shots and when everyone was waiting for a third encounter with the horse, the user changed the third and the fans - if there were any, there were some - were furious. So much so that when the bullfighter toasted the conclave, they continued with the protests.
Kneeling in the third, he ran his hand in a round series that changed the panorama and the applause resounded. Even more so when, already standing, the bull charged with dedicated nobility and Gómez del Pilar knew how to take it long.
When the piton changed, the coupling came intermittently but with three superb final hits of the series. With the bull already at a loss, Gómez del Pilar took the sword, which although it went in whole, turned out to be defective and the request for a trophy came to nothing. Not so the behavior of the bull, much applauded in the drag.
