The emotion of bullfighting is there and the Valencianos shout, "Ol? and "Ol? as the series unfolds. Then Fran shuts off the flow with a half Ver?a, gathering the cloth at his back hip at the very last moment, suddenly removing the bull's target, whipping the bull's head around and taking away its desire to charge again. Then there is a trumpet blast and Fran's picadors trot into view. The bull charges the horses twice, taking two stabs of the spear, and then another trumpet, and Fran's banderilleros put in three sets of banderillas.Fran takes off his hat and lays it on the sand. It is time for the faena with the muleta, a little red cape folded over a short stick Fran and the bull are alone in the ring. The audience is all around them, and the ugly office buildings loom down over the roof of the bullring.
The sky is dry for the moment and the air is filled with the guerilla warfare sounds of small firecrackers exploding and the brassy, percussive music of the bands marching, and people on the street outside. Fran starts with the muleta in his right hand, reeling off an uneven series of passes marred by the bull's growing tendency to become distracted and slide away at the end of each pass. Fran kneels, giving the animal a set of low, pretty, punishing passes, using the semaphore of the cape to command the bull to lower its neck, bringing its head down and giving Fran greater control. Then Fran stands tall again and twists the bull around his body in three rhythmic progressions of passes with the right hand, squeezing taut cries from the crowd.The bull stands its ground, waiting for Fran to act. It is heaving and a saddle of blood drips down its back from where the picador has injured it Fran gives the animal a few moments to catch its breath Then he offers the cape and shouts The bull strikes But this time it doesn't charge in a straight line. Instead it takes its eye off the cape for a moment and makes straight for Fran. Without hesitation, Fran spins, twirling in a circle, wrapping the muleta around his leg and bringing the bull's head around with a snap, forcing it to wrench itself after the cloth, stopping it cold.
Fran has solved the problem presented by the bull with courage and artistry, and Valencia loves it.Someone in the crowd yells out: "Maestro, m?a!" And the band begins to play The audience tenses, focusing its will on the sand. Fran moves the muleta into his left hand and begins to work passes, luring the bull with the small square of cloth hanging lifelessly from the stick. The series works, as does the next and the next, building up and up in emotion. Fran makes his way over to the fence and trades in the light sword he uses to give his wrist a break, for the steel death sword.
