On Thursday, at the Cibeles Palace, the Toro de Ledia Foundation presented a tribute to Luis María Anson “for his unconditional defense of bullfighting in all the media he managed throughout his career.” Before going on stage, … The hall observed a minute of silence in memory of Alvaro Domec and Ana María Borquez, two commanders who recently died at Bravo Field. Later, it was Vicente Zabala de la Serna, coordinator of the First Bullfighting Congress, who took the floor to introduce Anson: “If you start reading his biography, we will be here for half an hour,” he warned, recalling the distance of one of the great masters of Spanish journalism.
Luis Maria Anson, word worker and professor of literature
Anson, who had just turned ninety-one, spoke as passionately and clearly as ever. “I was a doer of the Word. I continue to work every day at the newspaper. He said: “God willing, this is how I will die.” His defense of the festival, which had been fierce for decades, became a speech of enormous cultural depth: “To disdain something as great as bullfighting is an atrocity. The generation of 27 was all about bulls.” He later denounced that the Minister of Culture had been excluded from honoring Ignacio Sánchez Mejías – a key figure in the creation of the 27th century – and in response he recited from memory, in front of a large audience, the lines of Spilled Blood, from the famous poem by Lanto de Lorca.
“Bullfighting is a ballet of art and value. “I heard it from Picasso, who was a communist,” he recalls, and warned of the danger of political manipulation: “Now, for partisan and sectarian reasons, what bulls mean is being distorted by just a few votes.” He included operas, novels and hundreds of poems inspired by the fighting, and he defended without hesitation the role of the press: “It must forget sectarianism and reflect what is happening in society. And still the bulls are exceptional.” Before concluding, he did not want to forget Vicente Zabala, as one of the great critics in the history of the Spanish press, referring in particular to Rosario Pérez, “who writes wisely about the bulls, and beautifully in her literary expression.”
Party, quintessential ABC
Before this recognition, a round table entitled “Journalism, Bullfighting and Freedom” was held with the directors of the three major national newspapers. “The treatment at ABC is not something special, it is something essential. In our lines we talk about the bulls of freedom, without the commitment that the bulls should be loved by everyone,” stressed Julian Quiros, director of the ABC.
Quirós insisted that digital transformation must coexist with the best written traditions: “We cannot lose the history of bullfighting, which is one of the richest records of all.” For the ABC director, the world of bullfighting is seeing a clear surge in interest: “Great personalities have always transcended bullfighting, and now that surge is enormous.” He also analyzed the political use of bullfighting: “Bulls are not right-wingers. “You are gone, you who have abandoned the cultural identity they once shared,” he said, looking symbolically to the left. He pointed out a contradiction: “In Catalonia, the bullring is banned, but the street fairs continue, because they don’t dare touch what is really popular.” Among those in attendance was Mario Velão, the Catalan bullfighter who had not yet been able to fight bulls in his homeland.
Vicente Ruiz, deputy director of El Mundo, defended the professional obligation to cover what matters to the community: “It would be negligent not to give bulls when the data is repeated. Morante de la Puebla has been the most read name in our newspaper this year, above any head of government. He stressed that the young audience is coming in strong. Paco Marhuenda, director of La Razon, explained this idea: “We must complement the traditional with new channels. “He is thrilled to read the chronicles, but also to watch a bullfighting performance.” He added a political key: “The left needs flags to confront it and covers other debates with bullfights.”
The event was opened by the city’s mayor, José Luis Martínez Almeida, who claimed the cultural role of bullfighting and stressed the importance of the press: “We must preserve and transmit bullfighting precisely through you.” Victorino Martin, president of the FTL, also spoke, emphasizing that “the cause of bullfighting and freedom was stronger than all the sad attempts at ban,” and thanked the city council for “the drive to continue expanding the world capital of bullfighting in this city.” A perfect place to honor someone who has been championing the same idea of newsrooms for more than half a century: Luis Maria Anson, wordsmith and journalism professor.
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