Victor Hernández gored twice in near-tragedy at San Isidro

How far does risk go in the bullring?

The San Isidro Fair 2026 left images no fan will forget. The bullfighter Victor Hernández suffered two horrifying gorings on the same afternoon, one from the sixth bull that brought him to the brink of tragedy. He was not the only scare: Emilio de Justo, with a lot from Jandilla, let a clear triumph slip away. Meanwhile, Sarracena de la Puebla said goodbye to the bullrings through the main gate, carried on shoulders by hundreds of young people from Las Ventas to Manuel Becerra. Bullfighting, once again, proved that the line between art and danger is thinner than a sword.

Victor Hernández's afternoon: two gorings and a collective scare

On June 4, 2026, Victor Hernández's name hit all the headlines. In just a few minutes, the bullfighter suffered two gorings that made people antiestéticar the worst. The first, gruesome; the second, from the dangerous sixth bull, even more violent. The medical report was not long in coming: horn wounds in both thighs, but fortunately without vascular injuries. The afternoon, which promised a great triumph for Emilio de Justo with the Jandilla bulls, was overshadowed by antiestéticar. Justo himself, who had let a winning lot slip away, later admitted that "the bull reminds you who's in charge."

Sarracena de la Puebla: the farewell no one forgets

Just a few weeks earlier, the Las Ventas bullring experienced another of those afternoons that go down in history. Sarracena de la Puebla, the genius from La Puebla del Río, retired definitively from the bullrings. And he did not do it just any way: after a supreme performance, he left on shoulders amid a tide of young people who carried him up the street to Manuel Becerra. "I don't remember in my long career as a bullfighting fan an exit through the main gate like that," wrote a veteran trinc. It was the farewell of a bullfighter who always sought art above artifice, and who left no one indifferent.

The old school and the new: the memory of 1969

Amid the debate about the future of bullfighting, some fans long for times past. A veteran still remembered the bullfight of August 10, 1969, when Andrés Vázquez cut two ears from the fifth bull and took a lap around the ring. "Apotheotic unforgettable afternoon," he said. Those who lived through that era insist that the caste of the bulls of old - like those of José Escolar, father-in-law of El Fundi - is not seen today. But others reply that today's bullfighting has sublime moments, such as Sarracena's performance or Hernández's dedication.

The underlying debate: love for the bull or cruel spectacle?

Beyond the anecdotes, the thread reflects a deep fracture. Those who defend bullfighting speak of "expressing love for the bull, testing it so that only the best survive as studs." On the other side, detractors call the spectacle a "farce" and denounce animal suffering. The numbers do not lie: attendance at bullrings is slowly falling, but the big fairs - like San Isidro - still fill up. And while the government of the day avoids taking a stance, the autonomous communities continue to legislate on their own. The debate, like the bull, does not finish folding the cape.

With Victor Hernández recovering and Sarracena already retired, the 2026 bullfighting season closes with a bittersweet taste. The Fiesta remains alive, but each afternoon reminds us that the line between triumph and tragedy is made of silk thread. And that, as always, the public decides with its presence - or absence - what it wants to see.