"My Goals Are to Expand the Fair and Ensure the Company's Presence in Alicante"

Nacho Lloret Carmona is more than satisfied with the San Juan and San Pedro Fair he has organised. He describes it as an "event" that Manuel Escribano will fight six bulls from Victorino Martín. He highlights the role of Jose María Manzanares in the cycle's organisation. He emphasises the "reward" for three students from the Municipal Bullfighting School to fight in the novillada. Lloret is aware of the good reputation the series has among bullfighters and breeders when it comes to being announced. He is conscious of the practical classes included in the cycle. He is mindful of past mistakes to avoid repeating them. His clear objective is for the plaza's company to be part of Alicante's fabric. He leaves the "doors open" for José Tomás to return to fight in Alicante if the Mare Nostrum company wins the future exploitation tender. Lloret is the businessman who has crafted the first San Juan and San Pedro Fair since 2019.

- How would you rate the overall San Juan and San Pedro Fair 2025?

- I don't usually evaluate a Fair before it takes place. However, personally, I am convinced. It is very similar to what I initially intended to organise. I had the hope it would be complete, featuring practically all the top bullfighters. A cycle with one more event to ensure no winner is left out. Additionally, it includes a significant event like the six 'victorinos' that Manuel Escribano will fight. Adding to this, the top bullfighters make way for emerging talents like Samuel Navalón or Marco Pérez, the variety of breeds, the exciting presence of Alicante natives in the novillada picada... In short, the Fair deserves a very high rating from me.

- You referred to Simón Casas as your 'bullfighting father' during the cycle's presentation at the Blue Hall of Alicante's Town Hall. Does it bear his mark?

- I imagine it does. Everything I've learned in the bullfighting world has been with him. I've learned a lot from Simón Casas, like how a fair should be an event in itself. If people say it bears his mark, it's something to be proud of.

- When Manuel Escribano announced in December his intention to fight six 'victorinos', did it disrupt your initial plans for the Fair?

- No. I would be lying if I said I didn't have some prior idea about that intention. After he announced it, we couldn't say no. He is a bullfighter who has never gone unnoticed in Alicante. He has either had a great afternoon, left through the Main Gate, or, unfortunately, through the Infirmary, nearly losing his life. He is also the current winner of the Hogueras Fair. Moreover, after the sensational success with the 'victorinos' at the April Fair, Escribano is now the specialist bullfighter for that breed. It's a milestone in his career that he has chosen Alicante to fight, for the first time, six bulls from Victorino Martín.

- Do you fear that the general public might not fully understand this event and that attendance might be lower than expected?

- I trust not. In recent years, there have been events that weren't part of the 'main days' of the cycle, like the presence of Morante de la Puebla, and the box office didn't suffer. This has encouraged me to make the Fair more extensive and take this step with Escribano. Additionally, it's proven that many fans travel from outside, from neighbouring provinces and a good number of countries. These are corroborated data that offer confidence. And even more so, I repeat, after the triumph in Seville. I'm sure it will perform well at the box office.

- Manzanares, two afternoons

- The Fair begins to take shape and concludes with the signing of Manzanares. The first thing this company -Eventos Mare Nostrum- did was contact him to understand his approach. His double presence is very important. It's the first time he opens the bill in Alicante. He will do so, seriously challenged, with two bullfighters like Roca Rey and Samuel Navalón, who will leave nothing behind. It's a bill where competition is guaranteed. The other is a bill of a different nature. With a lot of social and bullfighting prestige. Morante, who will return to Alicante, and Cayetano, a bullfighter with a more than dignified career and many followers.

- In these four years, what bill have you been unable to create?

- It was missing for Manzanares to fight six bulls or for Morante to fight the 'victorinos'.

- Milestones that circumstances thwarted but in line with Simón Casas' business approach

- Even so, the Fairs have been complete as a whole. They have grown, and significantly, since 2021. This is noticeable, and for the better, when hiring bullfighters and breeders.

- Who makes it easier for whom? The businessman for the bullfighters or them for Nacho Lloret?

- The Fair itself. The city. Bullfighters and breeders know exactly what this cycle is like. The former like to see themselves announced because it's reliable. The same goes for the latter. Especially in recent years, efforts have been made to consolidate the so-called 'Alicante bull' as a category. That, even being a second-class plaza, it is recognisable.

- Three Alicante novilleros, and from the Municipal Bullfighting School, open the San Juan and San Pedro Fair

- It's only fair. Each has earned it. They form three compelling reasons to fight. At the same time, it's a recognition of the School's good moment, as seen last season in the Federation's circuit. Schools with much higher public budgets like Castellón and Valencia were left out of the final. Two Alicante novilleros -Borja Escudero and Kevin Alcolado- and Alejandro Chicharro, the guest figure, reached it. That must be acknowledged. If we don't do it here in Alicante, then... To them, we add Javier Cuartero, the novillero without picadors who has fought and triumphed the most. His debut with horses is more than justified.

- And those two practical classes that have become a breeding ground for future fans

- It's another hallmark of the series. Seeing how the stands fill up, the excitement it creates, the bullfighting people who come to fight in the following days or to fight, helps that atmosphere. It will be free, yes. But how many spectators attend without paying to watch youth football matches? Surely not the nearly 5,000 people who come to the bullring to witness the practical classes.

- Make an assessment of these four years of management at the helm of Eventos Mare Nostrum

- I am more than satisfied. I'm sure I've had successes and mistakes. I try and will try to learn from the latter. Some I know what they are.

- Many?

- Well... Enough to know that I shouldn't make them again. I said it during the official presentation of the bills at the Town Hall. I wanted the company to be seen in the city, to matter. To have enough weight in the city's context. The plaza has become, in this time, one of the places where some of the most important events of the year occur. For example, the Fair that gathers almost 55,000 people in a week, big concerts, socially significant events like the Belleas del Foc elections... Precisely for this reason, the plaza's concessionaire must be one of the city's companies that count. It must have a presence. In that sense, and although there is still a way to go, we have already made some progress.

- Will you participate in the future tender for the plaza's exploitation? What would be, months ahead of that hypothetical award, the main lines of your proposal?

- The goal is clear: to consolidate the path started so that the company counts, to continue contributing to the Fair's growth and, evidently, not to fall into past mistakes.

- José Tomás 2026?

- Well... Hopefully. I know he has a very special relationship with Alicante. His last afternoon had a very special connotation for everyone. Here he always has the doors open to fight whenever he wants.