Pepe Moral, bullfighter: the fear of being forgotten emboldens the spirit

On the afternoon of May 11th, Pepe Moral (Los Palacios, Seville, 38) stood at the entrance to the bullring at La Maestranza with a loser's sign plastered on his back. He hadn't stepped onto the Seville arena in three years, and his name was lost on the long list of those who once sparked hopes that faded with time.

His career—he took his alternative on June 11, 2009, in the Andalusian capital—has followed an uneven path, a winding mountainside crisscrossed by hopeful triumphs, empty afternoons, personal discouragement, and straying from the path that leads to success. But, whether up or down, Moral's classic bullfighting approach has remained intact.

Perhaps that's why that afternoon's bullfight, footstep after footstep, was a deep conviction that change was possible. Few knew it, but the bullfighter took it upon himself to prove it against two uncooperative bulls from the legendary Miura brand.

Two ears at the April Fair , a wide smile on the face of a man with scars on his soul, and, once again, hope. Days later, a replacement at the Pamplona Fair , and another triumph against a prize-winning bull; tomorrow, Saturday, he's announced for the Málaga Fair, and on Sunday, for the Magellanic bullfight held in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz).

I've changed my way of thinking, living, eating, I take better care of myself and I'm close to the people who love me."

"And we're waiting for more replacements to emerge and some proposals to materialize for September," the bullfighter affirms. "And my spirits are very good, better than I expected before Seville," he continues, "because back then I only had that bullfight, and now I see the future more clearly."

Question : Is it true that you saw that celebration as a turning point in your career?

Answer : Without a doubt. Bullfighting in Seville after such a long absence was a very serious commitment. Winning meant returning to the professional circuit, and failing to do so would force me to rethink my life.

Q. Have you ever thought about leaving the profession?

A. I don't know; I hadn't thought about it that way. I was sure something would change, and I felt that way deep down. I was very clear about what I wanted. I hadn't decided anything, but if it came to that, circumstances would have forced me to reflect on the future.

Q. This isn't the first time you've encountered a problem of this kind. You already experienced a similar situation in the same square in 2014.

A. That's right, but that moment was even tougher. I'd only fought nine bullfights since the alternative, and that Corpus Christi afternoon in Seville was a real toss-up. Fortunately, I was able to cut two ears from the Conde de la Maza bulls and get my career back on track.

P. In any case, your career has been full of ups and downs…

A. First of all, my seasons have focused on televised bullfights in Seville, Madrid, and Pamplona, which have given me a lot of exposure, but the number of bullfights has always been low. And it's true that I've had my share of setbacks, whether due to untimely injuries or personal problems.

Q. The most serious injury, and the one that harmed him the most, was perhaps the one he suffered on February 10, 2019 in Valdemorillo against a Miura bull.

A. Without a doubt. The bull tore my anterior cruciate ligament, both menisci, and the quadriceps muscle in my left leg. I was in the operating room four times, and I continued bullfighting without fully recovering. That ordeal affected me physically and psychologically, and consequently, it had a negative impact on the ring.

Q. And you yourself have said that the last two years have not been the best of your life on a personal level.

A. That's right, and it was due to laziness, to not being as focused as I should have been, to not doing things right, in short. And I wondered why this change in my life had happened, and I came to the conclusion that I was the one responsible for it all. If I'd been doing the same thing for a while and still hadn't gotten out of this hole, it's clear that I'm the one responsible. And I decided to change my life. I've changed the way I think, the way I live, the way I eat. I take better care of myself and I'm around the people who love me. In a word, I try to emphasize the positive elements that surround me.

Q. It seems that you have undergone, at the same time, a process of spiritual change…

A. Thanks to a friend, I attended a religious retreat called The Road to Emmaus, and it marked a turning point in my life. It brought me closer to God and gave me the peace I needed to make everything flow more smoothly.

A religious retreat on the Road to Emmaus brought me closer to God and has marked a turning point in my life.”

Q. So, it can be said that you are a new man.

A. Absolutely. I'm the same Pepe Moral I've always been, but I feel the same excitement as that 10-year-old who started dreaming of being a bullfighter.

Q. So you arrived in Seville with renewed spirit.

A. What I can say is that I lived that afternoon very intensely; I believe it's the most important of my career as a bullfighter and one that will mark me forever. I'm convinced that, after Seville, everything will be different, which will naturally be helped by a change in mentality and lifestyle. I don't know if the future will be better or worse, but I think I'm going to be happy.

Q. By the way, what have you been doing these past two years, during which you have done very little bullfighting?

A. I traveled to Peru, and there, surviving, I managed to fight around 40 bullfights, and it's served as a source of income. Those places are very tough because of the roads, because there are no infirmaries, and because of the bulls being fought, but it's also helped me find myself and see everything more clearly.

Q. Tomorrow, you're scheduled to appear at the Málaga fair with bulls from Murteira Grave; on Sunday, at the Magellanic bullfight in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, with a Miura bull run; and then we wait...

A. I'm going to give it my all. Being a bullfighter is my calling and what makes me happy. And I want to prove that I'm still capable."