The Pena Taurina
Date: Friday, September 22
Topic: Events
The Peña Taurina was created by Don Javier Rodríguez in June 1973 with the purpose of preserving the bullfighting tradition of the region and promoting the culture of bulls in San Miguel. Since then, the members of this civic organization, most of them men, meet every Thursday from November to June to organize events and conferences in the interest of preserving bullfighting in the city.
San Miguel was once an important center for the development of taurine celebrations in Mexico and hosted many important bullfights. The local bullring was one of the most important in the region.
Javier Villegas, current head of the Peña Taurina board, says, “In the ’70s there was a bar called El Tauro. The customers were bullfighting fans and began to meet certain days to talk about it.”
“Soon, the group began to grow and the association was created with Don Javier Rodríguez as the first president of the board,” according to Villegas.
The association grew to include almost 200 members and attracted the attention of local government authorities, who asked Ramírez and the Peña Taurina members to organize an event that could be included in the September festivities in honor of the Patron Saint Michael the Archangel, in order to attract more tourism and resources to the city.
Some members of the association, such as Melchor Larrea and Tomás Patlán, were familiar with the Pamplonada celebrations that take place in Spain in July to celebrate the patron saint of Pamplona, San Fermín, and they wanted to create a similar tradition here.
“We created it and we are very proud of if. For all those toro connoisseurs of that time, this was such a success. Now it is a tradition, and we are working to preserve its primary essence, the love of the art of bullfighting,” says Villegas.
Even though the sanmiguelada is the main event that the local Peña Taurina organizes, the club organizes other events. After the sanmiguelada, two bullfighting festivals are celebrated at the ranch of Miguel Larrea, and a series of workshops and lectures on the topic are held in several venues in the city. Important personalities of la fiesta brava come to San Miguel to participate, such as matadors El Glison, El Conde, Ricardo Bielman, and the famous and controversial Dr. Rafael Herrerías, co-owner of the most beautiful bullfighting ring in the country, La Monumental Plaza de Toros México.
Nowadays, the local Peña Taurina has 32 active members and 8 honorary members who work nearly all year to organize events related to this subject.
“We know the sanmiguelada is our main event and we give it almost all our time and effort. We worked to obtain sponsorships and funds to cover expenses, from the purchase of the bulls to the security and portable toilets. Really, it is a big effort,” says Villegas.
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