Manzanares: A Lasting Bullfighting Icon
When someone has the making of a bullfighting icon, there are highs and lows in every season, but in the end the stubborn will of a winner always surfaces. That is something you cannot hide. Every bullfighter faces it sooner or later, and Manzanares is no exception. The key is that the inner strength remains real and not a one-season flourish. For these reasons, Manzanares stands out as a true giant of bullfighting. His career and this season bear that out.
Looking at the latest, on Saturday, September 21, the Murcia Fair produced an afternoon worthy of framing, one of those moments you do not forget. Manzanares rediscovered his best form and had the good fortune to face a dream pairing from the Hermanos García Giménez stock at Casa Matilla. Two bulls he handled with the cape and muleta with ease and he finished them with two textbook estocadas. Verónicas of dream, neatly executed, with a low hand, the kind of passes performed with the outside hand because the inside hand rested close to the waistcoat. And so with both bulls.
Elegance has been one of the strongest assets of the Alicante-born bullfighter since his novilleros days. His presence is unique; despite his tall stature, he composes in a harmonious and stylized manner, and with every pass there is a sense of bullfighting when there is adjustment and depth. In Murcia, all that was seen and felt. If we talk about Manzanares’s muleta, the long line and the low hand on both horns are undeniable. The way he grips the bulls in front and brings them around his waist is part of his concept. The sequences tend to be short but intense.
But it is on the left horn where he performs best. Manzanares has an innate ease, which his father noticed from day one. To say it plainly: bullfighting runs in his blood. When a good bull amplifies these virtues, the magic of the moment appears, or as the flamencos say, the bull sings well. All of that was seen in Murcia. Four ears and a tail bear witness to it.
Another memorable afternoon took place on September 7 in Villena. Manzanares chose to be present for the arena’s reopening, committing fully to his land and serving as patron to a new bullfighter. He reconnected with the Alicante crowd who loves him, but who also demands, and he did not disappoint. He opened the gate of the arena, set the tone for the afternoon, and sent a message to the local torero: nothing here is given.
Very affectionate throughout the afternoon with Alfredo Bernabéu during a ceremony that marked the matador’s alternative. Roca Rey watched as a witness. In the end, the triumph belonged to the two titans of bullfighting who met again after their mano a mano at the Hogueras fair.
Be that as it may, attention should be paid to Manzanares for the rest of the season, because the good moment he is enjoying deserves to be followed and savored. The next Friday, October 4, he is listed in Madrid for the Autumn Fair, alongside Román and Tomás Rufo, with bulls from El Puerto de San Lorenzo and La Ventana del Puerto.
Ten years have passed since his father, the great maestro Manzanares, left us. The black outfits for bullfighting are in the past, and there is no better way to honor his father than by continuing to deliver the finest afternoons in rings around the world.
Let no one forget that Manzanares carved his name into the history of bullfighting with the pardon of that bull named Arrojado, from Núñez del Cuvillo, at the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla on April 20, 2011. And in Madrid, in the world’s most important square, he wrote another sacred page of bullfighting with the performance on Dalia, a Victoriano del Río bull, which many consider among the finest feats seen at Las Ventas in this century.
Manzanares is a great figure of bullfighting, a universal cultural treasure and a true Alicante native. He remains a living treasure that continues to delight the world. It is hoped this season will keep delivering memorable afternoons like the Murcia show. When maturity meets ambition and energy, anything seems possible.