Happy Birthday To Mario Coehlo

Happy 79th birthday to retired matador, Mario Coehlo today.

In his era Coelho was arguably one of Portugal's major matadores on foot and perhaps one of the bets banderilleros of modern time when it came to being a matador de toros noted for placing his own sticks.

Coehlo has fine afternoons in Spain and Portugal, but one of his greatest showings ever came in the border town of Nogales, Mexico in 1977. With his first bull he cut an ear, but gave the faena of a lifetime to his second, winning ears and tail.

Coehlo's son was also a torero.

Silveti En Madrid

Luego de triunfar el pasado sábado en Irapuato, Diego Silveti viajó este lunes rumbo a España con el objetivo de prepararse por espacio de un mes de cara a sus próximas fechas en México y Europa, donde destaca su presencia en la Feria de San Isidro de Madrid.

Toros En Juarez

April 15

Toros En Chihuahua

Se nos ha comunicado que el  dia viernes,17 de abril, se llevara a cabo una corrida de toros, en la plaza de la Esperanza de la ciudad de Chihuahua con el siguiente cartel: Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza, Antonio Garcia, el Chihuahua, y Alejandro Martinez Vertiz con toros de ganaderia de Pilar Labastida.

Book Review: The Storyteller

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Antonio Urrutia

From the late 1980s into the 200s, Antonio Urrutia remained a popular Mexican matador. Coming from Aguascalientes, the area knowing for producing quality Mexican toreros as well as bulls, Urrutia arose from the ranks of a charismatic novillero to a respected matador, complete with banderillas, capote, muleta and sword. When circumstances were favorable, he succeeded in all phases of the corrida.

From early in his career as a matador onward, Tijuana was always one of the towns where he offered his best showings, starting in the 1980s when he appeared alongside Rafaelillo and Raquel Martinez. He emerged as the triunfador of the day, offering an assortment of kneeling passes with capote and muleta for the tourists and sound muletazos for the purists.

In 1990, Urrutia again emerged as triunfador in a corrida with Mariano Ramos and Alejandro Silveti, cutting an ear from each bull. Again offering the kneeling passes with capote and muleta, placing exciting banderilla sets and giving varied faenas, he might have cut more awards had he killed faster. Nonetheless, he emerged as the star of the afternoon and even the violent tossing he took from his  first animal failed to slow him down.

Over the years, Urrutia endeared himself to the aficion, both within  the Mexican interior and especially on the border.

Urrutia took the alternativa in mexico City in 1982, essentially confirmign ti at the same time at the hands of Manolo martinez and Miguel "Armillita."

The alternativa was confirmed in 1999 in Madrid at long last, at the hands of Molinero and Ruiz Manuel.

Portal Taurino Page

http://www.portaltaurino.com

Ciudad Taurina Page

Worthwhile blog http://www.ciudadtaurina.com

Remembering Bernardo Marin

Bernardo Marin was a rising young novillero from Monterrey who was starting to make a name for himself in the Mexican rings, but died before taking the alternativa or becoming a star. As such, very little is remembered about him at all.

Marin was fatally gored at the Vista Alegre bullring in Mexico City on December 1, 1934. With the first bull of the day, he was working with the muleta and took a major wound in the leg, much like the one that would kill Paquirri decades later.

Marin was taken directly to a local hospital, but passed away a few hours after being admitted.

With time marching on, little else is remembered of him.

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Paco Cespedes In 2015

Paco Cespedes, the son of the late Peruvian matador of the same name, has become a seasoned veteran torero with performances in Spain, South America and Mexico to his credit. He plans to make 2015 a big year.

On February 5 of this year in Ceravali, Peru, Cespedes alternated with Emilio Serna and Jose Cubas in which he emerged triunfador. The corrida was a hard one, with difficult bulls, but Cespedes gave two defiant faenas that had the crowd on its feet, proving himself to be pone of the finest and perhaps most underrated muleteros in the world, this side of the late Manuel Capetillo.  Had his kills been quicker, he would have left on shoulders. Regardless of the fact none of the men cut awards, but were loudly applauded for their efforts, Cespedes in particular, showed an overwhelming determination with the flannel.

The 2014-2015 temporada in South America is winding down, but with El Geno,  the retired Mexican matador as manager, Cespedes has eyes on Mexico.

The still fresh 2015 taurine season may be a big one for Cespedes.

Meet Author D.P. Adamov In Ohio April 11

Meet author D.P. Adamov at the Dover Library as part of their annual bookfest in downtown Dover, April 11, at an all day affair.

Adamov is the author of the erotic bullfight novel, The Long Day Of Revenge.

For those interested in the book, but unable to attend go to http://www.pinkflamingo.com 

Notas: Zotoluco

El Maestro Zotoluco estará asistiendo a las ferias de Castellon y Valencia, y el lunes 16 estará volviendo a México para cumplir con sus próximos compromisos.

 

   

Mazatlan! Antonio Prates Returns To Mexico.

Joselito Torres

Not to be confused with the late South American matador of the same name, this Joselito Torres was born in Mexico in 1934. After a lengthy career with the novillos, he took the alternativa in Nogales sin 1957 at the hands of El Charro and Jose Ramon Tirado. The ritual was confirmed in Mexico City in 1963 at the hands of Callao.

Torres spent many years with the bulls, prior to retirement in 1975.

Nogales always was a lucky plaza for him, where he appeared numerous time sin the 1960s. Sadly, his last showing there in 1969 was a disaster when he failed badly with the sword and heard boos for one of the few times in his life. Manolo Urena upstaged him and cut an ear. Prior to this, Torres had some of his greatest showings ever in this ring, including an ears and tail winning performance some seasons prior to this.

Torres was especially known for the placing of the banderillas, with a marked distinction of removing his slippers and placing the sticks in his stockings.

A number of serious leg wounds never hampered him from continuing with the sticks.

Torres was featured prominently in Ann Miller's 1961 book, Matadors Of Mexico.

Another Bullfight Page. Puerta Grande

http://www.puertagrande.org

Zotoluco En El Campo

El maestro Eulalio Lopez "Zotoluco" ha estado metido en el campo bravo mexicano, concretamente en la ganadería de Don José Marron, de cara al próximo compromiso que tiene en el carnaval de Autlan de la Grana el domingo 15 de febrero, en donde esta acartelado con el francés Juan Bautista y el diestro hidrocalido Arturo Macias "El Cejas" quienes habrán de enfrentar una corrida de la ganadería de Boquilla del Carmen.

Dennis Borba

Like David Renk, Harper Lee. Tracy Viser, Sidney Franklin, John Fulton and others, Dennis Borba is an American matador de toros who took the alternativa several seasons ago in Mazatlan at the hands of Manolo Arruza and Chicuelin. Though he appeared in Peru, Portugal, Mexico and Costa Rica as well, much of his career was spent appealing in bloodless bullfights in California. In recent years he has devote more time to the raising of bulls and running a bullfighting school in Escalon, California, than in fighting himself.

Like other American matadores over the decades, such as Diego O' Bolger, Robert Ryan, Harper Lee and Tracy Viser, Borba always did excel with the banderillas.  This was always a strong point for him.

Though  many of his appearances were in bloodless bullfights in California, he did hold his own against stiff competition, including the temperamental Manolo Moreno and the rejoneador, Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza.

The alternativa was sadly not confirmed in Mexico City or Madrid ever, where frankly, it should have been. Politically, being an American had some disadvantages.

One of the miraculous oddities about Borba is the fact that even though he was fighting bulls since the early 1980s, he never received a major goring.

Being  regional hero in California has had its advantages. There has been a pasodoble  written in his honor and he has been the topic of much media coverage.

His brother, Clarence, was an accomplished forcado and his uncle was a band director for a bullfighting band.

Zapata

Uriel Moreno "Zapata" remains one of the foremost veteran matadors in Mexico today, taking his alias from not the revolutionary, but Emiliano Zapata, the town in Mexico where he was born in 1974

After a sensational career as a novillero, Zapata took the alternativa in Puebla in 1996.

The ritual was confirmed in Plaza Mexico in 1999 at the hands of Rafael Ortega and Uceda Leal.

Zapata has triumphed constantly throughout Mexico, but some of his strongest showings have been in the north in Hermosillo, Nogales, Juarez and especially Tijuana. In this last plaza, he has been a regular favorite , with one of his greatest showings coming several years ago in a corrida with Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza and Rafael Ortega. While Mendoza won top awards with his second bull and cut a tail, Zapata cut a pair of ears from the final bull of the day.

Though capable in all parts of the corrida, Zapata has especially become known for his work with the banderillas, especially the cortos where he breaks down the shafts to increase the danger. He is also known for the odd "violin" maneuver where he spins and places the banderillas over a shoulder, with his back to the animal.

Over the seasons he has come to be regarded as an integral figure in modern Mexican bullfighting.

Meet Dale Pierce This March

Meet Dale Pierce the last Saturday in March at 1-3 at Snowball Books on Tuscarawas in downtown Barberton, Ohio.

Give Barnaby A Visit

If anyone happens to go through northern California, one might stop in at the Santa Barbara Cemetery in Santa Barbara, California to give the late Barnaby Conrad a visit.

Conrad rests beneath a decidedly unelaborate grave, a ground level flat marker carrying his name with birth and death data, as well as that for his wife who remains alive.

Conrad was one of the pioneers of writing about bullfighting in English,  with books including Matador, How To Fight A Bull, Encyclopedia Of Bullfighting and The Death Of Manolete.