Fortes and Adrián, carried on shoulders in Pamplona

Pamplona maintained the festive rhythm of the ninth San Fermín Fair, with a packed bullring and a warm atmosphere in the stands.

The bullfighters Fernando Adrián and Jiménez Fortes left the ring on the shoulders of the crowd after cutting two ears each in a bullfight that was not easy, but it was exciting.

Ginés Marín, with the most fightable lot, had good passages without rounding off the performance due to errors with the sword.

The La Palmosilla bullfight, with bulls of uneven presentation and build, had mobility, but little commitment and strength.

A constant was its physical demands, forcing the bullfighters to resort to courage and composure.

Fortes greeted the first with a portagayola lantern that lit the fuse.

Then he performed verónicas that were tempered and finished with taste.

He began his muleta work on his knees and with determination, although the bull soon showed his lack of commitment.

He fought him mainly with natural passes, where he found a better pace.

He killed with an effective thrust on the first attempt and cut off an ear.

In the fourth, a tall and coarse bull, lacking strength or transmission, Fortes opted for a creative performance.

He began seated in a chair and gradually built his performance. There was no great brilliance, but there was determination. The thrust was powerful, but devastating.

The box awarded the ear and the Malaga native secured the exit on shoulders.

Fernando Adrián went from uncertainty to triumph.

With the second, a bull that was uncertain and moving inside, he tried to hold on firmly, but without success. He missed with his sword and heard silence after a warning.

Everything changed in the fifth, the most exciting bull.

With class, but without total commitment, the La Palmosilla native moved with demand.

A scare

Adrian, true to form, stepped onto nearby fields and was violently overturned.

He fell with his back and neck against the sand and was at the mercy of the snake. The pitons grazed his head, neck, and shoulders.

He got up dazed and without a jacket, unarmed.

He returned to the bull's face and delivered a somewhat detached but devastating thrust.

The square burst into applause, asked for the ears and the box granted them.

Ginés Marín had the highest quality bulls in the lot.

The third, a classy and noble red bull, allowed for more connected bullfighting.

Marín performed with smoothness and composure, naturally.

He didn't quite complete the performance, but it left a good impression. He pricked the bull before landing the sword thrust and lost the ear.

In the sixth, more demanding, he structured the most serious task of the afternoon.

The bull responded vigorously to the Extremadura native's firm touches. The thrust landed on the second attempt, and the box awarded one ear.

Today's bullfight features Manuel Escribano, Damián Castaño, and Jesús Enrique Colombo, fighting Miura bulls.