Olivenza 2024: true to its style

The posters for the Feria de Olivenza 2024 maintain the same philosophy and idiosyncrasy that put this event on the circuit: A powerful cycle, concentrated in a single weekend, with the presence of the most brilliant figures and the most promising up-and-comers of the lower ranks, attractively presented in order to promote, at the same time, spectacle and competition.

This year’s edition is marked by the double performance of Roca Rey, who will take part in the two bullfights that make up the festival. José María Manzanares and Alejandro Talavante will perform on the first day alongside the Peruvian star, who will close the fair on Sunday 3 March in another stellar line-up, with Morante de la Puebla and Juan Ortega as partners.

The two bullfights selected, although they are not from the usual stud farms in the Badajoz bullring, are from the “top” bull-breeds of the charro bull-ranch such as Puerto de San Lorenzo, scheduled for Saturday 2nd and Hermanos García Jiménez (Matilla), which will complete the programme on the following day.

As could not be otherwise, the novilladas, this year too, respond to their dual role of aperitif and showcase. The opening event on Friday the 1st brings together three of the most promising young bullfighters from the Extremadura bullring: the veteran Carlos Domíguez and the more novice Sergio Sánchez Silva and Sergio Domínguez “El Mella”, who will fight a bull run, also from Badajoz, from the La Cercada bull-ranch.

Alongside them, in the paseíllo, two of the novilleros who have won the most trophies and competitions without horses in the last year, Javier Zulueta and the Portuguese Tomás Bastos, who will be making their debut with picadors in Olivenza. Zulueta, a faithful representative of the Sevillian school of bullfighting, and Tomás Bastos, the latest pearl of Portuguese bullfighting, will bring many supporters to Olivenza. The Portuguese representation is sure to be particularly striking, due to the location of Olivenza, bordering on the frontier, and the curiosity of our neighbours to see the “corrida integral” and to contemplate first hand the evolution of their young compatriot.

The little time that is left over between one bullfight and the next can be used for award ceremonies, conferences and tributes to different figures from inside and outside the bullfighting world that take place at the stands of the Feria del Toro. Olivenza also has an excellent nightlife. Badajoz and, a few kilometres further on, Portugal, with the beautiful city of Elvas just a stone’s throw away, are other alternative leisure options to liven up the wait. Winter is already history. We are in the mood for bullfighting. And you know it.

José Miguel Arruego

You are interested in reading

Marco Pérez, much more than a child prodigy

The latest case of a child prodigy in the world of bullfighting. He fights for the first time in front of an audience in La Glorieta when he was only 7 years old.

Every appearance in the bullring is an event.