Cuenca: San Julián or the Champions League

For some years now, the San Julián festivities in Cuenca have been closely linked, thanks to businessman Maximino Pérez, with the term “Champions League”. This football-inspired label highlights the quality of the line-ups of this Castilian fair – a cycle that Pérez has been organising for over thirty years with remarkable results.

Once just another fair in the taurine season, Cuenca’s celebrations have, under Maximino’s management, become a true benchmark. All the leading matadors have passed through here – José Tomás included – sometimes taking on challenges rarely seen in their careers, such as facing less common bloodlines.

It has also been the stage for remarkable comebacks, such as the media phenomenon Jesulín, or Cristina Sánchez, the most successful woman in bullfighting. There have even been eccentric debuts, like that of Mexican legend El Pana in 2013, which created a stir among local fans and attracted both press and audiences from other regions who came solely to witness the event.

The 2025 fair maintains this same spirit: leading names and fresh combinations that stand apart from the more predictable billings elsewhere. Without a doubt, the headline event is Tuesday 26 August, when Morante de la Puebla and Roca Rey will once again face each other with bulls from Román Sorando, joined by Fernando Adrián – one of the revelations of recent seasons and a standout name in past editions of this very fair.

Another unprecedented billing closes the cycle on Thursday 28, with Manzanares and Cayetano sharing the ring with young novillera Olga Casado – a mix bound to draw in a youthful, lively and festive crowd, three hallmarks of Cuenca’s “Champions League”. The bulls will come from La Palmosilla.

For more discerning aficionados, Monday 25 offers a billing with pedigree: Uceda Leal, Fortes and Alejandro Peñaranda, three bullfighters from different generations united by one thing – they all know how to fight (and fight brilliantly). They will face a special challenge with bulls from Baltasar Ibán and Montalvo.

On Wednesday 27, Alejandro Talavante, Juan Ortega and Marco Pérez, with bulls from El Pilar, form a singular line-up blending the personality of the Extremaduran star, the unique artistry of the Triana torero, and the freshness of the most promising young matador of the new wave, already tipped as a leader of his generation.

The programme is completed by the traditional rejoneo (mounted bullfighting) that opens the fair – an elite event bringing together Andy Cartagena, Diego Ventura and Lea Vicens. With such arguments, it is clear why this cycle appeals to every type of audience, and why the title given by its promoter more than a decade ago could not be more fitting. Let the music play, just as in football stadiums before kick-off. Because no other label captures it better.