The 'Footprints' Left by Morante de la Puebla in Alicante
The maestro completed 20 appearances from 1998 to 2025 at the Plaza de España arena
Miguel de Clara
Sunday, 26 October 2025, 08:01
Morante de la Puebla, the renowned bullfighter, removed his coleta, but did not cut it, on Sunday, October 12, at Las Ventas. A historic date for bullfighting. His presence in the Alicante bullring has also left its mark from June 23, 1998, when he made his debut, until the past June 23, marking an unannounced farewell. Between these two dates, 27 years later, he completed 20 appearances at the Plaza de España arena.
He debuted as a bullfighter on June 23, 1998, alongside Manuel Caballero and José Tomás, facing bulls from Baltasar Ibán. He returned in 2000 to face bulls from El Torreón with Espartaco and 'El Califa'. A year later, he was back with Manuel Caballero and Rivera Ordóñez to take on a bullfight from Victoriano del Río.
His first notable milestone in Alicante came on June 24, 2002, during the debut of José María Manzanares -son-. It was a mixed event with Luis Francisco Esplá: four bulls from Buenavista for the bullfighters and two young bulls from Daniel Ruiz for the novice. He returned a year later -June 20- with Finito de Córdoba and Javier Conde, to fight bulls from Sánchez Arjona. He did not appear in Alicante in 2004.
The Hogueras of 2005 and 2006 had a clear Morante connection with the Manzanares family. In the first, he shared the bill with Salvador Vega, in the farewell of the Maestro of Alicante. The bulls were from Juan Pedro Domecq and El Vellosino. On June 23, 2006, it was the first time he shared the bill with Manzanares -son-, already a bullfighter. Finito de Córdoba opened the bill. The bulls were from García Jiménez and Olga Jiménez.
After two years of absence, Morante returned on June 24, 2009, with Luis Francisco Esplá and Sebastián Castella. They faced bulls from La Campana and a substitute from Juan Pedro Domecq. On June 20, 2010, he witnessed Alejandro Esplá's alternative, with Luis Francisco as godfather, to fight a bullfight from Juan Pedro Domecq.
A bust, glasses, and a hose
Morante de la Puebla wanted to join the events scheduled for the 50th anniversary of José María Manzanares' alternative. Thus, he donated a bust of the Alicante bullfighter to the Alicante City Council, which can be seen at the exit of the Puerta Grande. The event, with the presence of the bullfighter's family, took place on the morning of June 27, 2021, hours before he dressed in lights alongside Antonio Ferrera and Juan Ortega.
Two anecdotes remain in the memory of Morante's passage through the Plaza de España arena. On June 21, 2012, dissatisfied with the decision of President Rafael Mudarra not to grant him the second ear of his second bull -Zalduendo-, he threw glasses at the President's box during a greeted lap of honour.
Three years later -June 23, 2015-, disagreeing with how the ring was being watered after the third bull of the afternoon -Daniel Ruiz-, he took the hose from the worker and performed the task himself, to the astonishment of the spectators. Witnesses to the unexpected occurrence were El Juli and Alejandro Talavante.
The first time he opened the bill in Alicante was on June 22, 2011. Manzanares -son- and Francisco José Palazón accompanied him to face a bullfight from Juan Pedro Domecq, patched with a bull from Parladé. In 2012, also as head of the bill, he made the paseo with César Jiménez and Alejandro Talavante to face bulls from Zalduendo.
He did not appear in Alicante in 2013 but returned in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. In the first -June 21-, with Finito and Manzanares with three bulls from Zalduendo and as many from El Pilar. In the second -June 23-, he shared the bullfight of bulls from Daniel Ruiz with El Juli and Talavante. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, he did not make the paseo in Alicante.
He returned on June 23, 2018, to face bulls from Juan Pedro Domecq, with Manzanares and Diego Carretero on the bill. Exactly a year later, he made the paseo with El Juli and Paco Ureña. The bulls were from Garcigrande. The COVID-19 crisis prevented him from fighting in Alicante in 2020, where he returned on June 27, 2021, to fight a bullfight from Luis Algarra alongside Antonio Ferrera and Juan Ortega.
Two Evenings
Morante de la Puebla, already established as a 'bullfighter of bullfighters', signed for two evenings at the 2022 Hogueras Fair. Moreover, consecutively: on June 24 and 25. On the first, he faced bulls from Álvaro Núñez and El Pilar alongside Manzanares and Pablo Aguado; on the second, against four-year-olds from Juan Pedro Domecq, in the company of Talavante and Tomás Rufo.
The June 25, 2023, event was eagerly anticipated by Alicante fans. Morante was announced with bulls from Victorino Martín. Rafaelillo opened the bill, and Pablo Aguado closed it. It was impossible to see the Puebla native in the Plaza de España arena. A rib fracture suffered a day earlier in Badajoz prevented it.
He returned to the 'terreta' on June 23, 2024. He shared the paseo with Enrique Ponce and Tomás Rufo to face a bullfight from Daniel Ruiz. And last June, he concluded his journey in Alicante on Saturday the 21st, alongside Manzanares and Cayetano. Gañanito-51, a black burraco, weighing 524 kilos, born in May 2021, from the Puerto de San Lorenzo ranch, was the last bull he fought in Alicante.
