Manuel Escribano cuts just one ear in his confinement with six miuras in Seville, in an endless show
The miurada, insultingly loaded with downtime, lasted nearly three hours. People supported, encouraged and applauded Manuel Escribano from the beginning to the last minute. A scream as he appeared before his three gangs, a gala round of applause before the first bull was released, and an unreserved acknowledgment of the gesture of killing six Miura bulls at once. Audience for work, unconditionally, tirelessly.
Single sword runs require diligence, brevity, variety and resources. Prepared for the physical and mental test, Escribano opted for thrift, to exaggeration and repetition in tasks littered with a profusion of walks that had the strange effect of making the matador the protagonist of the show, even before and above a very varied and well-made Miura bullfight. But an inauspicious bullfight with the exception of a fifth saddled bull weighing only 530 kilos – far from the usual herd – who herded from the start, became jealous of the posts, galloped merrily on banderillas and knocked down, humiliated and repeated on the stool. His determination made him a reliable bull.
With that fifth on the track, the landscape changed radically. The first, brazen, combative and delivered in the cape salute that followed the first of the four long transitions from knees to porta gayola with which Escribano made people nervous, was stabbed by an obvious mistake. A second, very rear thrust ruined the good first notes of the bull, which had skill, air and shot comparable to that of the remarkable fifth, and blamed the spear, hurt, bellowed desolately and hit many headers.
The six bulls were flagged by Escribano, who in the third shared a third with Antonio Chacón and Fernando Sánchez -a second pair of his signature, sensational on arrival, meeting and departure- and gave Fernando himself a pair of fifth, who it came like a racing car without brakes and surprised him. The quarters, the power-to-power meetings, the changes inside, the faculties, and the security were notes common to nearly all couples that he eventually lit. Only twice did he stay with the sticks in his hands. But the third banderillas were delinquent. The band accompanied them one by one with paso dobles from the repertoire. During the third of the sixth they managed to turn a melodic piece like ‘Dávila Miura’ by Abel Moreno twice.
All bulls, except the fourth and sixth, were killed by right by Escribano. The bulls’ punches in odd turns were excellent. With the fourth, the highest of all, it was difficult for him to pass and only on the fourth journey did he bury the whole sword loose. Before making the sixth fall, the heaviest and another with spectacular height, he leaked once. It was the only time he seemed to show signs of fatigue.
The fighting order must have been intentional: the three bulls with the best notes were the first and the last two. But the sixth, cramped, had more nobility than strength and went out. The three intermediate bulls came out differently, although he had his deal, the second scored. The third, less vigorous, rough and unsteady, leaned on his hands and did nothing but protest. The fourth, launched with great style, was put to better use on the horse than the others, but it brought out defensive genius and cleverness on the stool.
The six bulls were put in front of the first rod and also the second by Escribano. None of the six resigned. There were no battles of emotion either. The six tasks were very similar to cutting and applying. It wasn’t until the sixth that Escribano was brutally on his knees in the opening. And it was only with the fifth that he was able to complete series of four and the finishing touch, and always in the middle. The sturdiness of the bullfighter, undeniable. His birth too.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
