Mario Navas: "I was excited to make the effort to shoot Victorino's in Valladolid, but they said no."

There's currently a very interesting roster of young bullfighters. Little by little, though very gradually, they're being counted on for some bullfights . What they almost certainly have is the fair in their hometown, as has always been the case. For months now, fans have been wondering where Mario Navas is, absent from all the fairs. "What's certain is that he'll go to Valladolid in September," was the general thought. Already...

This Monday, the posters for the city of Valladolid were presented. And Mario Navas? Good combinations, a mano a mano (which he could have entered), figures... And the local bullfighter? Well, he called the company days before to find out if they would count on him. Alberto García, CEO of Tauroemoción, answered his call on Saturday: "He told me he had the fair practically booked, and that it had occurred to him to offer me a spot in Victorino Martín's ," he told ABC. We're talking about a young man who hasn't even been a matador for a year, whose first, and probably only, event after the alternative was going to be with the bulls of Las Tiesas. Not because of the category, which is top-tier, but "because I don't have the experience or the necessary background to face a Victorino bullfight ."

Still, desire prevails, and with good judgment, " I told him to count on me ." The impresario told him that, before closing the deal, he had to propose it to the other bullfighters on the bill. "The next day, he called me and told me he was very sorry, that he couldn't put me in because his colleagues wanted someone older to open the ring ." Cautiously, he didn't mention names; but Fortes and Tomás Rufo were announced, with Uceda opening. It should especially pain one to do what one doesn't want done to oneself.

" I'm disappointed, because I was really looking forward to it ," he continues. "I was going to make the effort to kill Victorino, having little experience and little skill, and yet they still said no ." But the spirit remains undiminished for someone who knows he has the money to turn things around: " These things aren't going to stop me . I think I'm going to be a figure in bullfighting, and the bullfighting bosses aren't going to hold me back; only a bull can do that ."

" Injustices are like that; they don't only happen in Valladolid. And many bullfighters suffer from them, not just me... " He rightly speaks of the need to bring together young bullfighters with leading figures "so that tomorrow the public will continue to go to the bullring, and for that, they have to know us, because there will be a generational change before long , I think." Still, the misfortunes of some may be a respite for others: Valladolid may have left him out, but Marco Pérez's goring in Alicante opens quite a few posters that were already closed, most of them with Tauroemoción.

Of course, he wishes Marco a speedy recovery, "but I hope they can count on me at some fair. Sometimes, for better or worse, some sign things and others play them, and I hope some entrepreneur will want to count on me ."

His bullfighting career was swift: he took the alternative with twenty-seven bullfights. And he won the Cénate Las Ventas competition. The prize was entry into the bullfight at the Autumn Fair, but by then Navas was already a matador. "Since the bullfight couldn't be held, I was hoping they would give me a good confirmation ." He didn't arrive in Autumn, but neither did he this San Isidro, where there have been six: " I contacted the company in Madrid, and they told me it was very complicated ."

He speaks gratefully of what it means to him to see that fans want to see him on the posters, and the complaints that arose from not seeing his name in Valladolid (and elsewhere). And also of his desire to return to the Monumental de Ventas, which he knows so well: " I dream of Madrid , because it's the world's leading bullring, and it's where I've always felt most comfortable bullfighting, and above all , where I've felt most valued and respected by the fans ."

This season, Mario is sitting back and doing nothing at home. Nothing ahead, nothing behind. " I haven't even fought in a bullfighting festival ," he tells us. Well, he's not sitting back: the excitement of training and wanting to be someone in this field isn't lost on those who know they have it at their fingertips. "I'm almost more excited because I know my time will come, and you have to be ready for any opportunity. Preparation is day in and day out, trying to get to the field as little as possible."

"But God's timing is perfect, and in the end, when it's meant to happen, it will happen ." He's just starting out, and this is a long-distance race. He still has a long way to go, "and I want to continue growing in the profession and continue to inspire the fans and all the people who support me. I don't know the only thing suffering from this; there are so many bullfighters who keep fighting, and many have had their time with that passion and patience ." Whether or not the companies have his phone number, Mario Navas's time will come.