Castellón Bullfighting Fair 2024:

The latest edition of the Feria de La Magdalena brings together all kinds of ingredients to add flavour and colour to the stew. Top bullfighters, bullfighters of art, promising bullfighters and even a bullfight by Victorino, make the "Castellón de La Plana" festival a menu that is hard to refuse.

Under the slogan "A Fair to dream about", the company Funtausa published the posters for the next Feria de La Magdalena in Castellón, a cycle which, due to the liturgical calendar, this year is starting earlier than the Feria de Fallas in Valencia, a series with which it overlaps in its final stretch. It is a season consisting of eight events (from Sunday, March 3rd to Sunday, March 10th) which includes five bullfights, two novilladas de promoción (bullfights for young bulls) and one bullfighting event.

In the bullring of the Avenida de Pérez Galdós there is room for everything from a "bullfighting" dish to the most popular "artist" line-up among the fans, and of course, the top bullfighting stars are present. The "main courses" are also programmed on weekends so that the fans from abroad can come to the Levantine bullring and enjoy the combinations at the same time as the Mediterranean coast.

On Sunday the 3rd, the curtain rises on a bullfight by Victorino Martín, a classic bullfight in this season, which will feature, hand in hand, the local matador with the best current line-up, Paco Ramos, together with the greatest revelation of the past year: Borja Jiménez. Ramos is already a veteran bullfighter, hardened in the toughness, both of irons and experiences, as much of his curriculum is forged in bullrings of the Peruvian province, where he gained credit and morale to be much more than a survivor in the profession.

Borja Jiménez made a name for himself last year at the Feria de Otoño, with a bull run by Victorino Martín. The Sevillian bullfighter earned three ears in such an important event, from which he came away with the poster and the atmosphere very reinforced for the current season, where key challenges await him in his intention to reach the noble zone of the ranks.

On Monday the 4th, it will be the turn of the bullfighting with horses event "rejones" where, together with Diego Ventura, the leading figure of this art, Andy Cartagena and Léa Vicens, two rejoneadores who live at the top of an increasingly select roster of bullfighters, will be taking part. The bulls, a guarantee of quality and class, belong to the Murubeña de Fermín Bohórquez bull-ranch. Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th are destined for promotional bullfights organised by the Bullfighting School of Castellón, in which, together with students from the aforementioned school, there will be promising bullfighters from other schools such as Huesca, Valencia, Badajoz, Madrid, Albacete and CITAR. The animals to be fought belong to the Sepúlveda and Hermanas Alonso Clavijo herds.

The most intense part of the event comes at the weekend. On Thursday the 7th, with bulls from Casa Matilla, El Fandi, a consummate specialist in the second third, a classic in La Magdalena, will be accompanied by one of the most classic and complete bullfighters of the bullfighting scene, Ginés Marín, a reference of his generation, and the young Fernando Adrián, who makes his debut at the fair as a legitimate winner of last season in the Monumental de Las Ventas.

On Friday the 8th it is the turn of the Juan Pedro Domecq bulls. Manzanares performs the first of his two engagements in La Plana, accompanied by the leading figure of the moment, Andrés Roca Rey, and the young Tomás Rufo, who counts his performances in a bullring in which he made a spectacular presentation two seasons ago, with four ears being cut off.

Morante, Juan Ortega and Pablo Aguado come together on Saturday 9th to fight the Domingo Hernández bullfight. The expression of art in three different and complementary aspects. The combination surely most desired by fans with pedigree. Because in Levante Taurino, as well as the cult of the bull, there is also devotion to bullfighting. And the date is ideal for bringing parishioners from other places.

Closing the programme are three figures with an extensive curriculum, not only in this bullring, but with an enviable record in bullfighting. Castella, Manzanares and Talavante. The bulls, from El Puerto de San Lorenzo and La Ventana, also promise to contribute to the success of a spectacle which will be the perfect finishing touch to a menu of great interest, due to its selected ingredients and condiments. Bon apetit!

José Miguel Arruego

Cartel Feria de la Magdalena de Castellón 2024