In 2002, UB Professor of Philosophy Víctor Gómez Pin published La escuela más sobria de la vida, an essay in which the ethical and aesthetic demands of bullfighting were measured. Two years earlier, against the times and without any subsidy, the Bullfighting School of Catalonia had been launched. And it continues forward, now with bullfighter Enrique Guillén at the helm and four students aged between 16 and 17: Alba Caro, from Santa Coloma de Cervelló; Marcos Adame, from Calafell; Mario Vilau, from l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and Hugo Casado, from Barcelona, son of matador Alfonso Casado, who collaborates with Guillén. Four aspirants to glory who, due to their age and the ban, never saw bulls in the Monumental de Barcelona.
On the horizon, Vinaròs April 16, the first novella without choppers in which they are announced. Behind – and ahead – are afternoons of training after class, stealing hours of rest and fun and trips – at the expense of each one – to the south of France and towns in Castellón, Aragon, Castile to enjoy their passion – forbidden in Catalonia – in front of the jónecs.
Holy Week days, school holidays, which allow training to go from afternoons to mornings and here we have them – except for Hugo, with a fever that day – deploying layers and crutches on the municipal lot provided by the City Council of the Hospitalet de Llobregat.
Under the watchful eye of Enrique Guillén, who corrects or, if he intervenes, cheers, "un fa el el bull" so that the partner draws the natural as little as possible and Alba blows the cloak to the wind. So, alternating between them, the morning passes, and in a break the conversation arises. "In my case, no one in my family or my environment is bull. But I do remember watching a bullfight on TV with my grandmother, it may all come from here", says Alba. Mario takes it from his family in Castelló: "Since I was a child on holidays I saw the bulls in the street, then with the televised bullfights I was hooked". Marcos sums it up: "Watching bullfights on TV is what made me interested in this world".
All four agree that their Taurus dream does not affect the relationship with colleagues and friends, from foreign backgrounds. Although Alba, who says that he prefers to be called a bullfighter than a bullfighter, points out: "In my case, at first it can collide a little, but it stays here".
Wanting to be a bullfighter is a dream that feeds on joys and bitterness, hopes and resignations, and they are aware of it: "Training is a stimulus for the illusion, it's what makes you grow", argues Marcos . They also search the networks for late afternoons and historical bullfights and are interested in bullfighting literature, an indispensable supplement.
They have visited practical classes outside of Catalonia, but the one in Vinaròs will already be a novice without choppers, this first step that everyone wishes will be the beginning of many things. Alba, whose reference is Morante de la Puebla, will wear a pink and silver suit, which was from Guillén; that of Mario, apple green and gold, of the matador Sánchez Vara, and Marcos will wear a royal blue and azabeja.
Everyone is counting the days until this longed-for appointment arrives that, with all certainty, will be accompanied by the Catalan fans, used to a forced bullfighting exile. It will be in Vinaròs, in its bullring next to the Mediterranean, sea of culture.
