Roca Rey dominates in Murcia with four ears and a tail

Roca Rey takes centre stage on the third day of the Murcia Fair

The third bullfight of the Murcia Fair belonged to one man: Roca Rey. The Peruvian matador delivered an electrifying performance, claiming every available trophy from his two Victoriano del Río bulls: four ears and a tail, earning a triumphant exit from the bullring on the shoulders of supporters.

His triumph came through two very different performances. The third bull lacked stamina and required Roca Rey to build the faena through determination and his ability to connect with the crowd. With the sixth, he found greater possibilities and produced a high-intensity performance from the very beginning.

Paco Ureña also produced one of the afternoon’s most notable performances with the fourth bull, while Juan Ortega showed commitment and professionalism despite facing a difficult and unrewarding lot.

The bullring was close to full.

Ureña finds the quality in the fourth

Paco Ureña began his afternoon with personality. With his first bull, he performed a quite of chicuelinas after the animal had received a single charge from the picador.

The Murcian matador began his faena in the centre of the ring with a pase cambiado por la espalda, a pass in which the bull is led behind the matador’s back. He then linked several series on the right, imposing his rhythm on the bull and keeping its charges measured and controlled.

The animal gradually became less settled on the left, but Ureña persisted, shortening the distance and continuing to search for a way through. Circular passes and close-range work increased the intensity of the faena.

It was a meritorious performance, but his failure with the sword prevented him from being rewarded with a trophy. An aviso, the warning given when the allotted time is approaching, was sounded and he was met with silence from the crowd.

His second bull offered better conditions. Ureña immediately understood the fourth’s humiliated, downward-reaching charge and found particularly good responses on the right.

The faena gained depth as it progressed, allowing the matador to display his composure and ability to guide the bull’s charges. There were several passages of notable quality and a performance that deserved a greater reward.

However, the third attempt with the puntilla, the short dagger used to finish a bull that has already been stabbed, caused the animal to get back on its feet when the kill appeared to be virtually complete. Ureña heard an advise and received an ovation.

Juan Ortega gives everything but finds no reward

Juan Ortega faced a first bull that came out strongly and received substantial punishment from the picador. By the time it reached the muleta, it was more difficult and predictable on the left.

The Sevillian matador tried to work it on the right, but the bull never fully surrendered to the muleta. Ortega dealt with a difficult situation through skill, seriousness and commitment.

In the closing stages, he raised the intensity with manoletinas and changes of hand, providing a spirited finish to a demanding performance. The sword work became complicated and two avisos were sounded before he finally dispatched the bull. Silence followed.

The fifth gave Ortega a more promising start. He received it with a larga cambiada on one knee at the edge of the arena before gaining ground with a series of verónicas.

His quite by gaoneras was particularly stylish and, once the muleta was in his hands, he began with flair, performing elegant pases de las flores.

But the bull quickly ran out of strength. Lacking stamina and repeatedly looking for an escape route, it offered little response to the matador’s attempts to keep the faena going.

Ortega eventually had no option but to abandon the effort. He killed with a sword thrust followed by a descabello and again received silence.

Roca Rey brings Murcia to its feet

Roca Rey began his afternoon with a varied display of cape work with the third bull. During the banderillas, the banderillero Paco Algaba was injured and had to be taken to the infirmary for treatment of a suspected Achilles tendon rupture.

The Peruvian wasted no time once the faena began. He stood his ground in the centre of the ring and received the bull with a series of extremely close estatuarios before beginning to temper its charge on the right.

The Victoriano del Río bull lacked stamina, making it difficult for the faena to gather momentum in the opening stages. Roca Rey persisted and searched for ways to engage the spectators.

He succeeded towards the end. A series of invertidos, circular passes in which the matador changes the direction of the bull’s charge, together with an intense close-range sequence, raised the temperature inside the bullring.

A sword thrust brought the faena to an end. Although the bull was slow to fall, the crowd strongly demanded trophies and the president awarded both ears.

A sixth bull to seal the triumph

With the sixth, Roca Rey sought to avoid excessive punishment in the horse to preserve the bull’s mobility. His intentions were clear from the very start of the faena.

The Peruvian moved to the centre of the ring and, on his knees, launched an explosive opening with as many as four passes behind his back, immediately sending the crowd into a frenzy.

From there, Roca Rey linked several strong series on the right and gradually constructed a faena in which he imposed his own style and authority despite the bull’s limitations.

The matador took complete control of the afternoon and once again demonstrated his ability to raise the intensity of a performance at the crucial moments.

A sword thrust brought the faena to its conclusion and the president awarded the maximum trophies: two ears and the tail.

Roca Rey left the Murcia bullring on the shoulders of supporters after collecting four ears and a tail, sealing a dominant victory on the third day of the Murcia Fair.

Victoriano del Río provides a well-presented corrida

The Victoriano del Río bulls were well presented and displayed varied behaviour. The fourth and, particularly, the sixth stood out within a corrida that offered the matadors different challenges and opportunities.

The afternoon was ultimately defined by Roca Rey’s performance, as the Peruvian claimed all four ears and the tail available to him and turned the third bullfight of the Murcia Fair into his own day of triumph.

Tribute to Paco Ureña

Before the bullfight began, Paco Ureña received a commemorative painting marking the 20th anniversary of his alternativa, the ceremony through which a matador formally becomes a professional bullfighter.

The tribute was presented by Fernando López Miras, President of the Region of Murcia, accompanied by bullring businessman Ángel Bernal.

During the bullfight, banderillero Paco Algaba was treated in the infirmary for a suspected Achilles tendon rupture.