Pepe Moral: "I fought hard and was able to get everything out that was inside me."

The final bullfight at the Maestranza bullring this year was a resounding triumph for Pepe Moral . The bullfighter cut two ears, one for each of his bulls, and could easily have gone out through the Prince's gate, as the crowd insistently demanded a second with the fifth bull of the afternoon. When asked on Radio Sevilla, Mario Niebla described him as "the pleasant surprise" of this Sunday: "The triumph of the afternoon was his."

Moral himself noted after the performance with the first of his two bulls that "I've been developing the bull little by little. I've trusted him a lot from the beginning and I've felt comfortable and happy , which is how I want to be. For me, it's an honor and a pleasure to return to Seville and cut off an ear. I've worked and fought hard, and I hope to be able to bring out everything I have inside. I still have a lot to say and I have many more things inside."

And he certainly had. With the next bull from the Miura ranch, he once again gave a masterclass in bullfighting. At the end of the bullfight, he remarked on the radio that " I've been able to unleash the Pepe Moral that I have inside, and that seeks to delight the audience. Let's hope it helps this year." Of course, the Palacio-born bullfighter's personal situation hasn't been the easiest, as he recalled in statements at the bullring: "The only two bulls I have that will change my situation a bit, I have to trust no matter how it turns out." And it's worked out well.

Manuel Escribano , with whom he shared the bill as well as Esaú Fernández, was openly happy about Pepe Moral's triumph: "Pepe deserved the two ears. Outside of the competition that is the bullring, everyone has to do what they can; they don't have to compete with the successes of others , but with themselves. Besides, we're friends. He's fought hard and continues to fight, and he deserves it."

Regarding his own performance at the Maestranza, the Gerena native acknowledged that the last bull was "impossible, a very Miura-like bull, charging with both horns. He kept trying to get away, and there was no technique or possible option anywhere. There's no other word for it: I couldn't get through. That bull scared me." The previous one hadn't left him much to do either, as his friend David Galán pointed out: "Every pass was an odyssey. It was very difficult, very difficult to go in and kill."

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