Borja Jiménez, bullfighter, the extreme emotion of a loving handshake | The bull, by the horns | Culture | EUROtoday

Borja Jiménez (Espartinas, Seville 1992) goes within the morning to a tent on the La Palmosilla livestock farm, positioned within the Cádiz lands of Tarifa; At midday he will get into the automotive, accompanied by his agent, Julián Guerra, and prepares to journey the 685 kilometers that separate the property from Madrid, the place at eight within the afternoon he met with this newspaper in a shopping mall within the northern space. From the capital. After the assembly, he goes to RNE, the place they await him for one more interview. With the night time already over, he heads to Tudela (Navarra) to attend one other bullfight the subsequent morning, and as soon as the coaching is over, he travels to Salamanca, the place the bullfighter and his consultant stay.

“I lead a very busy life, it’s true,” says Borja Jiménez, “and I thank God for paying this bill, which is the price of success; Since October 15, when I finished the season with the Seville festival, I have traveled more than 30,000 kilometers, more than in the entire year as a bullfighter.”

He says that within the second week of December he had already collected 12 awards, and he nonetheless had 5 – 6 extra left, and he has responded to the decision of quite a few golf equipment that wish to function the revelation bullfighter of the yr of their winter gatherings. And he confesses that, earlier than and after every journey, he trains.

Ask. Since October 8, while you left by the Puerta Grande de Las Ventas, you might have solely acquired reward.

Answer. “And also some criticism, don’t believe it. But what the fans do convey to me is the joy that Madrid’s victory has brought them, and that is a very great source of pride for me. I know that praise can be debilitating, but I try to accept it as a personal satisfaction resulting from the effort, and aware that it is not worth just one big afternoon; You have to hit again to continue climbing. Madrid has put me on the path, but we have to keep going.”

“It is cruel to see that your teammates bullfight, and you train and train, and everyone tells you that your situation is very difficult”

It is inevitable to recollect the Victorino bullfight, with which Borja Jiménez established himself in Madrid after reducing off three ears and changing into probably the most fascinating bullfighter of the yr. Needless to ask him concerning the accountability and happiness he felt in these moments…

“When I held the first ear in my hand,” he says, “tears came to my eyes and I squeezed it tightly remembering everything I had gone through to get there.”

P. But destiny had one other nice shock ready for him.

R. “Yeah. The most beautiful image that I will keep forever is that when I was riding on shoulders and reached the threshold of the Big Door that faces the outside of the square, the first person I saw was my mother. The handshake we gave was the most exciting thing. Finally, we have achieved it! We said to ourselves without speaking.”

Borja Jiménez says that his mother does not usually accompany him, but she traveled to Madrid in 2016, when her brother Javier left through the Puerta Grande, and decided to return on October 8; but he was not in the square. He preferred to stay outside with a friend, and they both prayed throughout the celebration, sitting on a bench outside.

P. ‘Finally we succeeded…’

R. “Yes, because the wait has been long and very hard. I took the alternative in 2015, and I only fought about twenty bullfights in eight years. I do not wish it to anyone. It’s cruel to see that your teammates are announced and you train and train, and you call a representative or a company and they tell you no, that your situation is very difficult. And when professionals tell you about it, they make you doubt…”

Borja Jiménez comments that he experienced “a strange situation.” His profession as a bullfighter was profitable, he left by the Puerta del Príncipe in 2014 and triumphed in vital festivals, however after receiving the matador’s gear he was solely introduced in 9 bullfights, and, beginning the next yr, he was fully unemployed.

P. And how do the followers preserve themselves in these circumstances?

R. “This profession is vocational, and it creates feelings in you that are difficult to abandon. There were two or three occasions when I was about to throw in the towel, but something in me prevented me from expressing it. And thanks to this, the constant training and support of my family and the teachers Espartaco Sr. and Juan Antonio I have been able to overcome those circumstances.”

Borja Jiménez completed his diploma as an agronomist the yr of his different, and through 2019 and 2021 he labored as an inspector at an Iberian pig certifier through the acorn marketing campaign.

“I needed economic stability,” he says; “I participated in tentaderos, I traveled many kilometers and had to have some income.”

“Companies must bet on those who succeed; If not, what’s the point of going out on your shoulders through the Puerta Grande of Madrid?

“I have never stopped going to the countryside, and I am very grateful to the ranchers, who have allowed me to continue bullfighting even if it was not in a bullring,” he continues. “I did between 30 and 40 tentaderos each year, and each season I have prepared as if I were announced in 60 runs; Thanks to that, this year I have found the reward.”

P. Do you assume that this reward will bear fruit on the most important festivals?

R. “This is how it should be for all bullfighters; Companies must bet on those who succeed. If not, what’s the point of succeeding in Madrid? At the moment, there are negotiations, tugs of war… And we have one thing for sure: we will not come to Las Ventas until the San Isidro fair.”

P. Speak in plural…

R. “I am referring to Julián Guerra, my attorney since last January. I had a hard time convincing him to represent me. Since the summer of last year he traveled to Salamanca two or three days a week with the goal that he would notice me and decide that we would walk together. I had met him in a shop and I liked his vision of the bull, the profession and his knowledge of the bullfighting business.

The bullfighter’s perseverance paid off (“he was measuring me for several months,” he says, “until he verified that my dedication was total), and he affirms that he is delighted with who he considers, in addition to his agent, his trainer, his coach and his friend, which is why he has abandoned his family Espartinas and moved his home to Salamanca, where Guerra lives.

“Julián has opened my mind to the knowledge of the bull and the nuances of each charge,” explains the bullfighter; “My conception of bullfighting has improved, and I think that now I get the best match; I am very happy with him, we understand each other very well and the results are visible.”

With him he lived the moments following Madrid’s resounding triumph…

“Ugh, that night was… It was half past twelve and the phone still hadn’t stopped ringing. And it occurred to Julián and I to watch the bullfight again, and the first impression was negative because I detected many defects, but I also understood that I had just taken a step forward in my bullfighting.”

Borja’s father was with them.

“My father… When he came in we hugged and cried together. He knows well the path we have traveled.”

After the interview, Julián Guerra waits for the bullfighter within the car parking zone. They have many kilometers forward of them, trophy commitments and gatherings, the very best reward for effort, and a number of coaching. When the pages of the calendar give method to the brand new yr, the way forward for Borja Jiménez will likely be within the fingers of businessmen.

All the tradition that goes with you awaits you right here.

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