In May, the bullfighting season reached its two main peaks: the Seville Fair and the San Isidro Fair. Two almost overlapping cycles in which the fans will live for forty consecutive days with the bulls. The man from Seville is about to finish and the man from Madrid is waiting for him to take over. The winners of Seville will be in Madrid, but there is one of them who was sweeping. This Thomas Rufusthe latest bullfighting sensation.
Thomas Rufo, Pepino (Toledo) 1999, was a leading bullfighter. He opened the Big Door of Las Ventas at the 2019 Fall Fair in the Fuente Imbro Bullfight, which he competed in after winning the night last summer. Then came the pandemic and in 2021 he is back at the top with great performances wherever he fights. On September 11 of the same year in Valladolid, he took the alternative out of the hands of Julian Lopez July D Jose Maria Manzanares. He cut off four ears. From there, to win in all the squares in which he fought: Talavera de la Reina, Ciudad Rodrigo, Castellón, Alba de Tormes and Seville.
At La Maestranza, Thomas Rufo rode through a rainstorm throughout the celebration, he was defeated, about to kill the sixth, and cut off three ears with which he opened the long-awaited Puerta del Principe. A few days later he chatted with digital freedom remembering that day with an eye to alternative confirmation in Las Ventas on May 20 during the San Isidro fair with bulls El Juli, Alejandro Talavante and Garcigrande. The poster was one of the first no tickets. Waiting through the roof.
Libertad Digital: How does Triana see herself leaving via Puerta del Principe?
Thomas Rufus: “The truth is that you see how everything happens very quickly, I would like it to last another 10 or 12 minutes so that I can enjoy it a little more. I think it’s every bullfighter’s dream, right? Go through this door. Luckily, it came to me early.”
LD: How do you fall asleep after opening?
TR: “That fucking day (laughs) because with the beatings I had a bit of a normal time, but the truth is that I was immensely happy because my dream came true. I thought about it a few days before, but, of course, even I convinced myself that this was something almost impossible, for which it was also necessary to strengthen the mind, because if the ears could not be cut, then nothing would have happened that in the end there is something almost impossible, but look where it could be achieved.
LD: What was stronger than the beating of the bull or what they gave you when you left through Puerta del Principe?
TR: “I didn’t care about the one in Puerta del Principe, I bet more on the one with the bull (Laughter).”
Analysis of the day in Seville
on the run River Victorian On Monday, May 2, there was a downpour that at times seemed like it would have to stop. July, king of rock, Thomas Rufo and his crews held out and had a great afternoon bullfight. Rufo recalls it this way: “I did not think that bullfighting would be suspended. When the first bull came out, there was already a lull, however, a lot of water fell out, the floor was impassable. In the end, it was worth it. So much for the audience, who stood in their places that no one moved, and also for me and my companions, banderilleros and picadors. It was worth it to be there. Only we who stepped on it knew how bad it was. But hey, in the end, when it starts to roll, you forget about everything. If it’s raining, bad floor or good, it doesn’t matter.”
Of his challenge to the sixth Victoriano del Rio, the one that earned him both ears, he said: “I fought myself, slowly, with what came out of me at that moment. The bull as he came and went on the outside, let me fight him without stepping forward to dislodge him, which to me is what it means to fight in the hood. The truth is, I didn’t pay attention to the music. I liked it very much and I’m staying with it.” He also reflected on his abilities with bulls: “I think it’s important that at the beginning of the task, especially in these herds, so good, but so brave, first you have to power the animals and leave them under control and then you can fight more relaxed as you like. I think it’s important to dominate the bulls in the beginning and already control them, and as a result of this and everyone who pulls for their concept.
Preparations for the assault on Madrid
The Toledan bullfighter joked with his somersault in the sixth bull of Seville, “Now that we’re twenty, we’re made of rubber” and explained that as long as the two bullfights he gave at Las Ventas in San Ysidro, mentioned above on May 20 and one on Friday June 3 with José María Manzanares and Alejandro Marcos and with bulls from El Puerto de -San Lorenzo, will continue to live on a farm near Talavera de la Reina, where he kills bulls. “I won’t get out of there,” he added.
LD: How are you preparing?
TR: “I have a banderillero with me and I practice bullfighting a lot, especially bullfighting. Fortunately, I work a lot in the field and kill a lot of bulls. Then I have many thoughts for every commitment, for every place we go. Mentalization for each side.
LD: He chose an alternative and they didn’t stop him.
TR: “Fortunately, no, last season was not very long, but it was very intense. There were important commitments as a bullfighter and then as a bullfighter the two days I fought. I think both alternative and then Talavera day. These were two important or high-profile days that in a certain way helped me to be in a good position this year.
The bullfighter from Toledo added about the triumphs in all the bullfights in which he competed, starting with the alternative: “I try to use all the opportunities that I have and that may come, because the way things are now in the world of the bull You must use every opportunity that is given to you.. And, of course, I try to get the most trophies, although this is still a statistic. I think it’s important to score every day.”
After Sevilla, he will fight on May 14 in Talavera de la Reina with Rejoneador. William Pretty Mendoza. Four bulls from Alcurrusen, the iron of his confidants, the Lozano brothers, for him and two from Fermin Bojorquez for the bullfighter on horseback. The next day he will perform in Valladolid at the San Pedro Regalado Fair with Moorish from La Puebla and Roca Rey ahead of the bulls of the Garcia Jimenez brothers. And in a few days to confirm in Madrid. Rufo explained that this is “a firm commitment now, at the beginning of the season, which I meet with great enthusiasm, really. Then let it be what God wants.”
LD: Now it’s time to confirm the alternative in Las Ventas.
TR: “In the end, I signed a contract with two bullfighting figures, and logically, there should be good traction at the box office. I look at it with great enthusiasm, I prepare very conscientiously for what Madrid is and what people like about Madrid.. I dedicate myself to this with a clear idea, but I hope that on this day everything will turn out in my favor, and we can have a pleasant day, which is what I want.
LD: You already know what it’s like to walk on your shoulders through the Puerta Grande in Madrid.
TR: “That was the last day I fought in Madrid as a novillero and now I’m back as a bullfighter to prove it. Another thing, because, after all, novillada does not cease to be novillada. Those are big words.. This is a very strong poster and also the second run in Madrid is also an important poster.”
LD: Do you think you will be judged differently in Madrid now for leaving via Puerta del Principe?
TR: “Honestly, I didn’t even think about it. I didn’t stop and think about it. I’m going with the same mentality as before that he achieved this, and that’s it, let it be as God wants.
LD: Bullfighting in Garcigrande, like in Alba de Tormes.
TR: “This is a farm that I really like. he is one of the best for me and I’m sure the important bulls will jump. It is very difficult for important bulls to come out on top, and Justo (Hernandez, the rancher) is confident that more than one good bull will come out with a winning opportunity. I am convinced”.
LD: Do all the business people call you after Seville?
TR: “If they call, they will call my confidants. I focus on my own, even if it’s a little or a lot, depending on how you look at it, that is, prepare yourself for commitment and that’s it. Right now I have no other worries on my mind.”
LD: What can you tell me about the takeover of the house in Lozano?
TR: “I am very happy to be with them, for me they are without a doubt the best. And this is obvious. As with the plan for my season, I have nothing more to add as it is extraordinary.”
LD: How do you feel about the fact that some people compare you to José Tomas?
TR: “I never liked comparisons. It’s a compliment that they can compare you to the greatest figure in bullfighting. It’s true that one of the fountains I drank was José Tomas and all those things that I took into my concept because I would like people to talk about me at bullfightsto be remembered for what I have achieved and not to be compared to anyone else.”
LD: And how is the season after Madrid? What do you think, run after move?
TR: “It is very difficult to imagine how a season can end with so many important appointments and so many commitments, which, of course, can add a lot, as well as take away. The way it is. I hope everything goes well and the way I want. and that I am fulfilling all my obligations. I am very prepared and excited, which is what I try to do every day and at the end of the year I could talk about an important season and, above all, maintaining a good position next year. “.