The day José Tomás 'vetoed' Miguel de Pablo

The San Isidro Fair enters its final week, and it does so with one of the favorite bullfights among bullfighting fans. The José Escolar bulls will be fought by Esaú Fernández, Gómez del Pilar, and Miguel de Pablo.

The brave bullfighter from Colmenar Viejo , who closes the list, is the protagonist of today's anecdote through a curious story from his time as a bullfighter:

On the afternoon of September 26, 2010, the Moralzarzal indoor bullring in Madrid had a special spectator among its attendees at the Feria bullfight. José Tomás himself, who was attending the event just five months after being on the verge of death after a serious goring suffered in April in Aguascalientes. Miguel de Pablo realized this, and decided to celebrate the death of one of his young bulls on an afternoon when he was carried out of the bullring on his shoulders. De Pablo's triumph allowed him to secure his presence at the following year's Feria that same day with the City Council.

That same winter, José Tomás chose the Moralzarzal bullring to hold one of the special training sessions he underwent in preparation for his return to the ring, which took place in 2011 in Valencia. As is typical for this bullfighter, the conditions of that training were non-negotiable : no one, absolutely no one, beyond his crew and those he trusted, was to be present in the ring.

But Miguel de Pablo found out and couldn't resist the temptation to come from Colmenar Viejo to try to sneak into the square and see his idol live:

"How could I not see José Tomás knowing he was going to fight two bulls ten minutes from home , being my idol and having dedicated a young bull to him in that arena shortly before?" he confesses.

Since he knew the bullring well, Miguel de Pablo knew where to sneak in. He entered through the corrals and from there to the stands, with a cap pulled down, hidden and silent, to fulfill his dream. But after the first bull had been fought, the Colmenar native realized someone had seen him, so he hurriedly headed back to his car.

—I left very quickly. I knew they'd caught me , that they'd seen someone, but I didn't think they'd know it was me.

What was not his surprise when, shortly after arriving in Colmenar Viejo, he received a call from the Moralzarzal Festivities Councilor.

—Hi, Miguel. We've seen you, you've done something that can't be done, and we've decided to remove you from the posters for next year's fair.

And, indeed, the claim came true, and when the posters for the next fair came out, Miguel de Pablo wasn't there... And all because he was seeing José Tomás.

• Anecdote included in the book 'Other 300 Bullfighting Anecdotes' , published by La Esfera de los Libros