At five minutes past seven in the afternoon he made gestures to his people José Manuel Tristan so that the Maestro Tejera Band will play ‘Plaza de la Maestranza’ in this luxury parade held in the Colón Hall of the Seville City Council to pay tribute to one of the great legends in the history of bullfighting: Francisco Camino Sánchez, Paco Camino. His widow led that exciting ride, Isabel Sánchez-Florwho could not hide from his face the satisfaction and pride of seeing how in his land he finally recognized ‘The Wise Boy of Camas’. An occasional presidential box had been set up where the Presidency of the local Plenary Session is located. In the center, the mayor of Seville, Jose Luis Sanzflanked by the president of the Andalusian Parliament, Jesus Aguirreand the delegate of Major Festivals of the Seville City Council, Manuel Aleswho could be considered the artistic and veterinary advisors of this unique celebration.
Not a month had passed since the jury for this prestigious award – which was recovered a year ago by the municipal government after the covert cancellation of the socialist-podemite stage– agreed to posthumously recognize the great matador of Camas, who died at the end of last July at the age of 83. The plenary hall of the Town Hall had been filled, full of bullfighters like Emilio Muñoz and Juan Antonio Ruiz ‘Espartaco’ –VIII Bullfighting Prize of Seville–, fans and even politicians, represented by the municipal groups of PP, PSOE and Vox, only absent were the representatives of Con Podemos and Izquierda Unida, who opted for the very bullfighting term of ‘espantá’.
The first shots of the afternoon were the work of the delegate Manuel Aleswho recalled that «The bullfight is the Fiesta Mayor of Seville», adding that «to talk about Seville is to talk about bulls, and to talk about bulls is to talk about Seville». “We have the obligation to defend the national holiday, being an inseparable part of our way of being and our traditions.” Next, the Banda Tejera honored the Valencian people with the pasodoble ‘Valencia’ by José Padilla –later he also performed the sounds of ‘Paco Camino’, a pasodoble that they recovered and which would not be surprising if it will soon be played in the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza–, giving way to Jose Luis Lopezwho made a profound speech about the Camas bullfighter.
During his speech, the mayor highlighted the city’s firm commitment to bullfighting as an essential part of its culture and identity: «Bulls are culture, a genuine culture and oursso linked to what we are, that this corporation will always maintain its defense of bullfighting. Seville is a world reference and cradle of bullfighting, with its temple in the Maestranza. Therefore, for me it is an honor to preside over this event and pay tribute to Paco Camino, an undisputed master who left us a few months ago.
Isabel Sánchez-FlorAfter collecting the award, he noted that this was an award that the teacher “would have liked to receive personally” because “he adored his town, his people and his family. “He felt like a Cameroon and a Sevillian, and he showed it off wherever he went.” The widow, visibly moved, noted that during the 37 years of their relationship “I learned more with him than at university.” «I will always carry it in my heart always».
The jury, made up of specialized journalists, ranchers, businessmen and fans, valued the career, significance and teaching of the bullfighter Paco Camino. Mayor Sanz recalled the teacher’s “generosity” with the bulls and highlighted that “Paco Camino not only dominated the bull; I understood and respected him. Was a noble teacher who gave part of his protagonism to the animalknowing that without him, his success would not have been possible.
In his speech, Mayor José Luis Sanz stressed the importance of bullfighting not only as an artistic and cultural expression, but also as an economic engine and noted that “Bullfighting moves more than 500 million euros in Sevillestructuring both our culture and our economic development. For this reason, faced with decisions such as the elimination of the National Bullfighting Award, in Seville we have decided to recover ours, also suppressed by the previous corporation.
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