Gustine Bullfight Review

Since Jeff reminded me, I figured I better type this up before it all fades away in my memory.

Not that it should, as the first three bulls were outstanding, and one of the cavaleirhos, Jose Manuel Duarte, was in top form.

Toiro 1 - a good charger, tenacious, strong, and straight. Kept to the task at hand throughout his time in the ring. Cav. Paolo Caetano worked very close to the bull, keeping it under his command. His style was straight-forward with little adorno, but mostly textbook excellence. He placed the sticks well. The forcados (Grupo Forcados Amadores de Chamusca from Portugal) made a great grab. For those who were at this bullfight and are new to the art, this bull was a good example of how it should be done on a bull that was worthy of the ring. Nothing fancy, but everything done correctly.

Toiro 2 - another good bull taken by Jose Manuel Duarte. I didn't really understand why Duarte has made so many appearances in California this summer. He has a fairly big name, and can do some beautiful work with the bulls. However, as the summer went on, I realized what it was that is hurting him: he is trying very hard to match Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza's style in placing the sticks, and he fails too often. When he connects, it is poetry in motion, but it often takes a couple of false starts. He did well with the spears, but failed his first baderilla. He quickly came back with a good straight ahead placement, and then followed by another good one and then one of those breathtaking moments that make me keep coming back for more. The bull was a fast charger and well-built, but was slightly reluctant. However, Duarte controlled and corrected the bull's reluctance with his skillfull horse work. The Turlock forcados narrowly averted disaster (two of their guys were slammed between the horns and the wall), but were able to pull the bull off the barrier and ended up with a decent grab.

Toiro 3 - OK. Ana Maria Batista is very pretty. We can all agree on that. Equestrian bullfighting has always been an acceptable venue for women to participate in, unlike toreo a pie, which just doesn't work. Ana Maria Batista has a good command of the horses and a keen understanding of the bulls. Agreed. However, the peones have the habit of stepping in to pull the bull off of her horse, thus thwarting her attempts at doing much with the bull. Unlike Patricia Pellen who had to dress down one of my least favorite capes a couple of years ago, Batista simply does what she does. It makes me wonder: as much as no one wants to see a performer, especially a lovely torera, lose her temper in the ring, Pellen was able to get that loathesome cape out of the way for the rest of the corrida. Does Batista really need the extra assistance? Anyway, the bulll came out strong, but said loathesome cape winded it with a completely innappropriate series of punishing passes. It got so out of hand that the crowd had to whistle him out of the ring. Honestly, I think that he is a frustrated matador. Unfortunately he is about as artless as they come, so watching him attempt lances with his cape is about as far from art as anything I can think of in the ring. He looks like Mr. Toad in a suit of lights, and his inept attempts at showboating highten the effect. Anyway, Batista did what she could and the Portuguese forcados made a great grab.

Toiro 4 - Well, it is important to remember that bulls are not trained, nor have they ever been in a ring before. You just don't know how they will do until they are in the ring with the performer. This was a weak bull, but Caetano mastered it and was able to coax some art out of the performance. Unfortunately the bull had not run enough, so it posed a pretty nasty challenge to the forcados (six from the Portuguese group, with Steve and Joe from Turlock). It took three attempts, but the last grab was a good one.

Toiro 5 - A decent bull, but easily distracted, and far too interested in the peones. Overall it was a mixed bag from Duarte, who made a couple of spectacular placements among a bunch of botched attempts at fancy stuff, that would have worked if he had placed the horse closer to the bull. It seems that his timing was a bit off with this bull, partly because the bull was so easily distracted, and partly because he seemed to be trying to extend his technique. This was my "ah-hah!" moment. Jose Manuel Duarte is using this season in California to rehearse and refine his technique, so that he is not doing it on the sand in front of the critics and aficionados in Portugal and Spain. If he can get his technique down on this stuff in strange remote rings full of drunken Azoran farmers in California, with borrowed horses and unbloodied bulls, when he is on his own turf with his own horses and cuadrilla and barbs on his sticks, he should be able to shine. Let's hope at least. I get the feeling that Cesar Castaneda of Tijuana does the same thing up here (unlike Oscar San Roman, who is a scoundrel who just comes up here to receive his fee and does no art at all. Come to think of it, he fights that way in Mexico, too. I wonder why his name has not shown up on any cartel for a couple of years?), as well as a couple of Spanish matadores who actually seem to appreciate the opportunity to work on the California livestock. It took Turlock four tries to finally land a good grab.

Toiro 6 - A complete manso fit only for stew meat. The bull bluffed more than he charged (a lot of pawing at the ground and head throwing), and showed little interest in the horse. On Batista's part it was a mixed bag. She botched what would have been a fantastic al quiebro placement, but had a notably good banderilla. She gradually brought the bull out of his querencia, and kept him fairly well under control. The Portuguese forcados made a great grab.

The band, from the Azores, was fantastic. They had a good repertoire, sound musicianship, and good direction (although the conductor did get a little hasty in playing for what turned out to be missed sticks).