History of the "Corrida Concurso de Ganaderías de Jerez" (Cattle Raising Competition of Jerez)

In general, bullfights and bull-breeding competitions have a “bullfighting” accent or a “bullfighting” nuance. The currencies selected by the company or the organizing commission of the show are usually a catalog of bulls with origins that are not very frequent in the fairs, so that, for the more nostalgic, more fundamentalist, or more “geek” fan, it is an opportunity to see animals from what, since a little more than a decade ago, has been called “minority breedings”.

Vic Fezensac and Zaragoza are the bullrings, perhaps the only ones, that have not failed to program a celebration of these characteristics every season. The southwestern Gallic bullring during its Pentecost fair, while the more than two-hundred-year-old Aragonese bullring has done so in recent years during the festivities of El Pilar, when it was tradition to announce it in April, coinciding with the feast of St. George.

However, the most prestigious bullfighting contest of the season was the one that took place in the bullring of Jerez de la Frontera. And it was so, because the main figures were contracted with the most prestigious cattle ranches, mostly those that grazed in that area of the “corner” known as “La Ruta del Toro”. Animals in the type of their breed, with a prototypical mating style and chosen for their breed rather than for their apparatus, which in general were very well trained by the bullfighters’ muleta.

The first bullfight competition in Jerez was programmed in 1955, during its September Fair, thanks to the impulse of the Jerez gentleman Álvaro Domecq y Díez, and the famous “Desteñido”, from the Juan Pedro Domecq ranch, was pardoned. And the last bull whose life was spared in the 35 editions in which this singular celebration was held was “Pregonero”, from Cebada Gago, in 1986, when the celebration was part of the Horse Fair, which is held every spring in the Cadiz bullring.

Both bulls won the prestigious “Catavino de Oro“, which was awarded to the fiercest animal of the event, an award that was also won by, among others, bulls such as “Pendenciero”, fought by Paco Camino in 1963, or “Subversivo”, also from Juan Pedro like the previous one, which was fought by Antoñete twenty seasons later. The last two bulls awarded with the Catavino were “Sueñomío” and “Desmayo”, both from Torrestrella, which were fought by Manzanares and Roberto Domínguez, respectively, in the 1988 and 1989 seasons.

However, the year 91 arrived and among the festivities programmed by Casa Balañá there was no Corrida Concurso. This void lasted until 2023 when, on the initiative and personal commitment of Morante de la Puebla, this emblematic spectacle was once again part of the Feria del Caballo. For this event, six bulls were chosen from six cattle ranches that graze in Cádiz (Fermín Bohórquez, Juan Pedro Domecq, Carlos Núñez, El Torero, Santiago Domecq and Álvaro Núñez Benjumea), which were fought by three first-class matadors, in addition to Morante himself, Sebastián Castella and Pablo Aguado.

Although the event was not an artistic success because, curiously, the raw material failed, the public said with their attendance to accept willingly the return of this unique bullfight in the offer of the subscription. More than three quarters of the audience attended the bullring on Circo Street in an event in which Morante de la Puebla triumphed, in addition to the bull “Barbecho”, from the El Torero ranch, which won the Catavino de Oro for its fight in the bullring, for being the most outstanding of all the bullfights that took place.

As a relevant fact, it is worth mentioning that, contrary to what is stated in the state regulations (in a bullfighting contest, the bulls go into the ring in strict order of seniority of each herd), the bulls were drawn by lot. The façade of the bullring once again has a tile that recognizes bravery in a bullring that calibrates good bullfighting and bravery like few others. There are many and abundant examples of both disciplines in this blessed land where the fino, the horse and flamenco combine with bullfighting in a natural, sincere and heartfelt way.