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Blood and sand

B. Blasco Ibáñez
Blood and Sand
The life of the torero Juan Gallardo begins at the moment when the hero is at the zenith of fame. Not knowing defeats, the favorite of the public comes from his native Seville to Madrid for the opening of the spring season. This is not the first performance of Gallardo in the capital, and luck invariably accompanies him. However, as it should be, before the bullfight, the torero is nervous, carefully hiding it from the crowd of besiegers. The only one to whom he is genuinely happy is Dr. Ruiz, a well-known physician who gave thirty years of his life to the treatment and care of the matadors and is revered by all of them. Gallardo performs brilliantly; his defiantly-daring behavior in the arena, his courage elicits delight in the exacting Madrid audience, almost unanimously recognizing his best torero in the world.
Gradually, the whole life of Juan Gallardo unfolds before the reader. He was born in a poor, barely endless family with

a cobbler’s family. When his father died, Juan’s mother, Donje Angustias, had to be very tight: she had two children left – twelve-year-old Juan and his elder sister Encarnación. Juan is given as an apprentice to one of Seville’s best shoemakers, but instead of going to the workshop regularly, the boy runs to the carnage, where he and his friends tease the oxen with a red rag, imitating the matadors. Then he begins to take part in kapeyah – amateur bullfights, arranged in the squares of small towns and villages, for which sometimes Juan disappears from home for a few days, to the indignation of his mother. Neither her tears nor beatings do not work.
Gradually, Huang acquires friends among the torero, acquires a rich patron and creates from his peers quadrillo, which follows him to all surrounding kapey. Finally, Juan seems to have a chance to perform in the Seville arena for the bullfight on the Novillian. Unrestrained courage and self-control help Juan win and immediately attract the attention of the public, the favorite of which he becomes.
Only one and a half years it took Juan

Gallardo to become famous, although he is still a novice, and not a professional torero. Together with the glory come and money – the family moves to a bigger house, Dona Angustias is no longer working, and Juan himself, like a real torero, acquires catchy jewels and a fast bay horse. And here comes Juan’s cherished dream – he is given the opportunity to perform in the arena in Seville, along with a professional torero; Juan wins, and the renowned maestro hands him his sword and muleta – Juan Gallardo receives the official title of matador or espada, which he soon confirms in the arena in Madrid. Now there is no release from those who want to see him in the arena – offers and contracts are poured out from the cornucopia. To conduct all the business, Huang hires don José, neglecting the services of Antonio, his brother-in-law, and in order to reward the offended relative, Huang instructs him to supervise the construction of a new rich house, where the patio will be laid out with marble slabs, and inside – a luxurious environment. The torero decides to marry himself and stops his choice on the neighboring Carmen, with whom they once played as children. Now the girl has turned into a rare beauty with a kind, flexible character, the glory of which goes around the neighborhood. The wedding was played together with the house-warming. But if Juan’s mother welcomes her sister-in-law cordially, then his sister Encarnación and her husband Antonio are wary of her, seeing Carmen and her future children as a threat to their five offspring, who largely contain Juan. where the patio will be lined with marble slabs, and inside – a luxurious environment. The torero decides to marry himself and stops his choice on the neighboring Carmen, with whom they once played as children. Now the girl has turned into a rare beauty with a kind, flexible character, the glory of which goes around the neighborhood. The wedding was played together with the house-warming. But if Juan’s mother welcomes her sister-in-law cordially, then his sister Encarnación and her husband Antonio are wary of her, seeing Carmen and her future children as a threat to their five offspring, who largely contain Juan. where the patio will be lined with marble slabs, and inside – a luxurious environment. The torero decides to marry himself and stops his choice on the neighboring Carmen, with whom they once played as children. Now the girl has turned into a rare beauty with a kind, flexible character, the glory of which goes around the neighborhood. The wedding was played together with the house-warming. But if Juan’s mother welcomes her sister-in-law cordially, then his sister Encarnación and her husband Antonio are wary of her, seeing Carmen and her future children as a threat to their five offspring, who largely contain Juan. Now the girl has turned into a rare beauty with a kind, flexible character, the glory of which goes around the neighborhood. The wedding was played together with the house-warming. But if Juan’s mother welcomes her sister-in-law cordially, then his sister Encarnación and her husband Antonio are wary of her, seeing Carmen and her future children as a threat to their five offspring, who largely contain Juan. Now the girl has turned into a rare beauty with a kind, flexible character, the glory of which goes around the neighborhood. The wedding was played together with the house-warming. But if Juan’s mother welcomes her sister-in-law cordially, then his sister Encarnación and her husband Antonio are wary of her, seeing Carmen and her future children as a threat to their five offspring, who largely contain Juan.
However, three years pass, and the young couple do not have children. Senora Angustias explains this by the fact that Carmen is constantly tormented by fear for Juan. Indeed, on the day of bullfighting – and the young bullfighter have more for the season than anyone else in Spain – a young woman finds herself in the waiting for a telegram, and spends the whole morning in church praying for her life, afraid to miss a word, so as not to harm Juan. Four years after the marriage, the torero can already afford to acquire the rich estate of Rinconada, where he once, along with his hungry comrades, showed the master his art of the beginner torero.
And then somehow after the end of the season, when Juan Gallardo enjoys rest from heavy corridas and exhausting crossings all over Spain, he meets in Seville with Donja Sol, niece of the Marquis of Morayma, one of the notable people of the city. This brilliant woman traveled with her husband, diplomat, almost all the capitals of the world, circling with her beauty and education of the head even crowned individuals. And now, widowed and deciding to live a little in her homeland, she continues to write out toilets from Paris, which does not stop her from getting carried away with folk music and dancing, which she finds very exotic, and learn to play the guitar. Juan as a local celebrity is invited to the estate of the Marquis to the hunt for bulls, during which Dona Sol is careless – her life is saved by Juan. After that they have a stormy romance, but if the torero is completely absorbed in the feeling that gripped him and is entirely at the mercy of this woman, then for Dona Sol he is nothing more than another toy. Forgetting about the family and the estate of Rinconada, Juan spends a lot of time in the company of Dona Sol, not hesitating to ride together on horseback. Huang is proud of this open communication, although it brings him much bitterness: Dona Sol is capricious, changeable and willful.
So fall and winter pass; begins a new season of bullfighting. Juan again moves from city to city, and Dona Sol travels abroad to fashionable resorts, and the torero does not receive letters from her, which leads him to despair. And now she returns – for a short time – to Seville. Juan immediately runs to his beloved woman, but meets a cold reception of a socialite. This continues for a while, and then Dona Sol expresses the desire to go with Juan to Rinconada: it attracts the idea of an invasion of the peaceful family comfort of the torero. About the trip becomes known to Donje Angustias and Carmen, and this news causes them a violent outrage. Gradually, although with difficulty, peace in the house is restored, but Carmen continues to suffer severely. But she blames mostly herself: there are no children in the house, which means that there is no happiness.
Suffers and Juan, but not because of the disturbed peace of the family hearth: after a trip to Rinconada, Dona Sol disappeared from Seville, and Juan feels deeply hurt. The mental state is reflected in the professional skills of the torero, and on the next bullfight in Seville, he is first seriously injured. At his request, Dr. Ruiz is summoned to telegram; he arrives the next morning and remains near the torero for ten days until he is convinced that the danger has passed. But Juan will need two more months to finally feel himself recovered. During the time of illness in the house, a full peace reigns, and in order to please the mother and wife, Juan Gallardo along with the residents of his quarter takes part in the processions of Holy Week.
After gaining strength over the winter, Juan decides to start performing, although after the incident the entrance to the arena scares him.
The first fight the torero holds in his native Seville. But although he kills the bull, his former courage and insolence have left him, that he does not hide from the eyes of the discerning audience, who demands of the torero constant death risk. This deeply shakes the matador, and his fear of the bull only intensifies. His next bullfight is in the capital, but now Juan’s enemies, who became aware of the torero’s failure in his native Seville, are beginning to revenge him for their former glory, spreading rumors about Gallardo’s cowardice; Do not lag behind and fellow in the craft, always envious of Juan.
The torero’s nervous condition is aggravated by the encounter with the dona Sol, which he sees coming out of the crew with a brilliant companion near one of the city’s central hotels. Confident that the previous relationship will resume, Gallardo goes to visit her. However, Dona Sol accepts it with the negligence of a noble lady and complete indifference. When Juan begins to talk about his love, he meets only coldness and ridicule. Torero understands that this is the final break.
Meanwhile, Carmen in Seville is eating anxiety for her husband, and she sends him one by one alarming letters, begging to immediately quit the bullfight and live peacefully with his family in Seville. But the measured life of Gallardo is not to his liking, besides, he is accustomed to not know the account of money and no longer thinks otherwise. Therefore, the torero decides to try to regain the lost love of the audience, to become for her the same Juan Gallardo. With this decision, he goes to the next bullfight. At the most crucial moment of the battle, Juan notices among the spectators of Don Sol and her companion; the torero covers an irresistible desire to show this arrogant woman what he is capable of. And Juan forgets about all caution, which turns out to be fatal for him. The first unsuccessful attack of the torero causes a hail of ridicule from the audience stands, which the torero can not bear. He loses all circumspection – and the bull picks him up on the horns. This bullfight is the last for Juan Gallardo: the hastily summoned Dr. Ruiz can not help him any more. The last thing the dying torero hears is the roar of the spectators demanding new victims.

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Blood and sand

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