SESSAO

Winners of the last edition of the San Isidro Fair

The Community of Madrid selects the winners of the last edition of the San Isidro Fair.

The Director of the Center for Bullfighting Affairs, Miguel Martín, attended the annual meeting held today at the Las Ventas Bullring between the regional government and the Madrid City Council to select the winners of the last edition of the San Isidro Fair. Following the votes of the jury members, it was decided that the award for best matador will go to Seville native Borja Jiménez, who left the Madrid bullring on June 7th after cutting two ears and completing two laps of the ring with his first bull.

The award for best bullfighter went to Roberto MartínJarocho”, trained at the José Cubero regional school “Yiyo”, who was carried out on shoulders on his debut day, May 21st. In the livestock section, the most complete bullfight in presentation and bravery went to the Fuente Ymbro brand, who fought an interesting herd on the afternoon of May 11th at the start of the cycle. As for the bravest bull, it went to “Sweet" by Victoriano del Río, born in September 2019, with a black spotted coat and weighing 548 kilos, who received a strong applause at the drag and was fought on June 7 by Borja Jiménez.

The presentation of these prestigious awards will take place on June 6th at an event during the San Isidro Fair.

Subscribers to the next San Isidro Fair 2025

The Community of Madrid increases the number of subscribers to the next San Isidro Fair by 5,8% compared to 2024

The Community of Madrid has increased the number of subscribers to the San Isidro 5,8 Fair by 2025% compared to the last edition, adding a total of 17.536 fans, almost 1.000 more than in 2024, who will have access to 21 bullfights, two bullfights on horseback and three bullfights for young bulls.

The cycle, considered the most important in the world bullfighting scene, will be held in the Las Ventas Bullring from May 9 to June 8, the latter being the day on which the Corrida de la Beneficencia will take place, which, together with In Memoriam, which this year will be in memory of the breeder Victorino Martín (June 15), are not included in the season ticket.

The San Isidro Fair will be attended by great figures of bullfighting such as Alejandro Talavante, Sebastian Castella, Jose Maria Manzanares, Andres Roca Rey, Miguel Angel Perera, Emilio de Justo and Morante de la Puebla. Also attending will be Uceda Leal, Antonio Ferrera, Daniel Luque, Curro Diaz, Paco Ureña, Manuel Escribano, Fernando Robleño, Tomas Rufo, David Galvan, Juan Ortega, Borja Jimenez and Fernando Adrian, among others.

All of them will compete against bulls from the best ranches, of different breeds, including Victoriano del Río, Fuente Ymbro, Juan Pedro Domecq, Alcurrucén, Dolores Aguirre, Victorino Martín, Adolfo Martín and La Quinta.

The ticket offices of the Las Ventas Bullring closed the season ticket sales period last Tuesday, the 4th, showing an increase in the number of passes for the third consecutive year. This growth confirms the interest of fans in this event, which has managed to recover 3.500 attendees since 2022.

Ticket purchases for all the festivities will begin tomorrow, Friday, March 7, at 00:00 hours, at the official website from the company that manages the Monumental, Plaza 1. In addition, for the first time in its history, Telemadrid will broadcast the San Isidro Fair in its entirety, as well as the Goyesca Fair on May 2.

The last edition of this bullfighting event registered the highest number of spectators in the last decade, exceeding half a million fans (564.353) and the bullring in Ventas hung the “no tickets” sign half of the afternoons, with an average daily audience of close to 21.000.

5th Bullfighting Festival with the Chenel Cup and the Bullfighting Circuit

The Community of Madrid is celebrating the fifth edition of the Fiesta del Toro, which will take place in 16 municipalities from March 1 to July 13.

The Minister for the Environment, Agriculture and the Interior, Carlos Novillo, attended the presentation of the event, which includes the Chenel Cup and the Bullfighting Circuit, at the Las Ventas Bullring.

Both are financed by the regional government and organised by the Fundación Toro de Lidia, totalling 22 events, in which 18 matadors, eight bullfighters and 45 cattle farms will participate, 30 of them from the region. For Novillo, this is “one more example of the regional government's support for the Madrid countryside and its fighting bull, once again giving our breeders the opportunity to show the quality and bravery of their cattle”.

The Chenel Cup, The parade, which is held in honour of the master Antonio Chenel Antoñete and is aimed at bullfighters, will begin on 1 March in San Agustín del Guadalix and will end on 6 July in Valdetorres de Jarama. It will also take in the towns of Estremera, Valdilecha, San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Torres de la Alameda, Alalpardo, Colmenar de Oreja, Valdemoro, Algete, Navas del Rey and Moralzarzal.

A total of 13 afternoons in which 18 bullfighters will participate, the winner of which will have a guaranteed place on the poster of the Corrida de la Hispanidad, which will be held in the bullring in Ventas on October 12. Among them, there will be representation from other countries such as Mexico, France, Portugal and Ecuador.

The Bull Festival Also includes the Bullfighting Circuit, Aimed at bullfighters who have not yet taken the alternative. There will be a total of 9 days with picadors, whose selected bulls are part of 18 ranches, all of them from Madrid.

The premiere will be on March 2 in Navas del Rey and will conclude on July 13 in San Martín de Valdeiglesias. In addition, it will tour the towns of Valdilecha, El Álamo, Miraflores de la Sierra, Talamanca de Jarama, Anchuelo, Alalpardo and Valdetorres de Jarama.

The Community of Madrid approves the posters for the San Isidro Fair

The Community of Madrid has approved the posters for the 28 celebrations of the upcoming San Isidro Fair

The next San Isidro Fair will be held at the Las Ventas Bullring from the 9 from May to the 8 from June. It will consist of 21 bullfights, plus the Extraordinary Charity and the one known as In Memoriam, which this year will pay tribute to the figure of the cattle breeder Victorino Martín Andrés. It will also host three bullfights with picadors and two bullfights on horseback.

The Minister for the Environment, Agriculture and the Interior, Carlos Novillo, chaired the Board of Directors of the Centre for Bullfighting Affairs (CAT) in the bullring in Ventas. This is the body that approves the composition of the posters for these events. He also approved the posters for the mini-fair on 2, 3 and 4 May, which are held to mark the Day of the Community of Madrid, and which will start with the traditional Corrida Goyesca.

Miguel Abellán Hernando leaves his position as Director of the Bullfighting Affairs Center

Informative note

Following the Board of Directors meeting of the Bullfighting Affairs Centre held this morning at the Las Ventas Bullring, the following information note is being sent to indicate that, since Wednesday 5 February, the former Director of the Bullfighting Affairs Centre, the bullfighter Miguel Abellan Hernando, will leave his position to devote himself to other professional fields. This marks a five-year period of management at the head of the CAT, and it is the first time that a professional from the sector has occupied this position in the management of everything related to bullfighting in the Community of Madrid.

A stage in which numerous and valuable actions have been carried out to promote the world of bullfighting, highlighting among others, the launch of the Bullfighting Festival of the Community of Madrid, with the creation of the Chenel Cup or the Bullfighting Circuit of the Community of Madrid, among other competitions. The aid to the livestock sector after covid to try to reactivate the sector so punished due to the pandemic, the celebration of the livestock fair of the Community of Madrid held in Venta del Batán, the festival of May 2, 2021 where bulls were given again after the pandemic in Las Ventas or the most recent, the festival of the Palacio de Vistalegre on December 1 to benefit the victims of the Dana where more than 400.000 euros were raised.

These have been years of intense work, where these actions mentioned are just some of those that have been carried out through the Center. Abellán begins a new journey by personal decision because he understands that a cycle at the head of the administration has been completed and it is time for a change.

This change comes from the hand of another professional from the bullfighting world, the bullfighter Miguel Martín, who in recent years has been in charge of the coordination of the José Cubero “Yiyo” Bullfighting School in the capital. This change of command comes for a person who is well-liked and respected in the world of bullfighting, with extensive experience in the political arena, as for several years he has served as a councillor for the Popular Party in various departments. He is responsible for areas such as celebrations, culture, works and services, among others. Martín, after his time as a bullfighter, moved on to the ranks of the silver bullfighters, working under the orders of numerous bullfighters.

A new cycle begins for the Center for Bullfighting Affairs, full of hope and responsibility, wishing both professionals the greatest success in their new stages.

New National Bullfighting Award

Presentation of the National Bullfighting Award at the Royal Post Office

The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has participated in the presentation of the new National Bullfighting Award at the Real Casa de Correos, the headquarters of the regional government, where he stated that the central government's offensive against this art is an "ideological attack on freedom and celebration in Spain and Latin America."

Díaz Ayuso has highlighted the work to recover this award by the Senate and the autonomous communities of Madrid, Murcia, Valencia, Aragon, Castile and Leon, Castile-La Mancha and Extremadura, and the Toro de Lidia Foundation. Thanks to this, she has indicated that this prestigious recognition will not be forgotten "in the face of censorship and ignorance", after the Ministry of Culture and the central government wanted to erase it last May "in a unilateral and sectarian manner".

“If they could, they would cancel Picasso and Goya; Manolete and Belmonte; Ortega and La Argentinita; Lorca and Hemingway; Orson Welles and Joaquín Sabina,” he stressed, while recalling how for many years artists and History itself have been censored, persecuted and canceled, in what he described as “selective memory and amnesia imposed by law,” while harassing “all those who love the truth of an art that is essential to ourselves.”

In his opinion, "those who try to take away freedom and prosperity always
They agree on attacking what is deeply Spanish and roots such as the
bullfighting”, a circumstance that has also occurred in some regions
Spanish.

Winner, February 11th

This award will continue to be given annually as long as this exceptional situation continues. The winner of this edition will receive 30.000 euros, maintaining the amount that was given before its abolition. The jury will meet on February 11 in Toledo, where the name of the winner will be announced, and the award will be presented in the Senate, on a date yet to be determined.

El National Bullfighting Award, which has been awarded continuously since 2013, recognises the merits of bullfighters, breeders and businessmen who stand out for their work in spreading the cultural values of this discipline. Over the last few years, figures such as Paco Ojeda, Enrique Ponce and Julián López El Juli, among others, have received this distinction.

Bullfighting exhibition by the Yiyo School

The event ended with a bullfighting exhibition performed by students of the Jose Cubero Yiyo School, one of the six learning centres for this art in the Community of Madrid. Since November 2021, this regional resource has returned to its facilities in the emblematic Venta del Batán, in the Casa de Campo in Madrid, and more than a hundred of its pupils participated in 371 performances throughout last year.