Animals in Peru,  Bullfighting,  Crossing Cultures,  Daily Life in Lima

Boy Bullfighters in the Park

Andres

The boy in the grey t-shirt swept out his arm and arched his torso in an elegant bow-shape as the “bull” charged within an inch of his hip. Then he pivoted on one foot and flicked the cape at his opponent’s head. The red fabric spun and twirled, daring the sharp, curved horns to come closer.

They were two Limeno kids, dressed in tracksuits and sneakers, practicing bullfighting passes in Parque Leoncio Prado this morning. One boy held a pair of bull’s horns mounted to a wooden handle. The other boy took turns practicing with red and pink capes and various swords.

Nearby on a park bench, a slim middle-aged man called out instructions and exhorted them to move “mas cerca.”

I spied them around 9 a.m. from my office window and came down to the park to investigate.

Up close, the boys looked serious, and no wonder: The one in the grey t-shirt was Andrés Roca Rey, Peru’s 10-year-old bullfighting sensation. “El Andi,” as he is known to his fans in Peru and Mexico, comes from a long line of Peruvian bullfighters, the Roca Rey family. As it turns out, the family lives not far from our neighborhood, in La Molina. El Andi had come to the park this morning with his coach, Luis Miguel Rubio, to train for an upcoming bullfight, to be held in Cajamarca on August 2.

Andres Roca Rey, El Andi, practices in Lima park, photo copyright Jorge Vera 2008Helping him prepare for the fight was 12-year-old Brian Rubio, the trainer’s son.

El Híjo and El Fotógrafo joined me on the park bench as I talked to Sr. Luis.

El Andi got down on his knees and spread his cape — not the most protected position from which to taunt a bull, I thought. Then again, I suppose that’s what a matador does when he wants to win over the crowd — demonstrate a courage that borders on recklessness.

El Híjo looked on with the bored face that boys put on when they are impressed. El Andi is exactly his age – 10 (or “11 in October,” as Andres pointed out to me later; strangely, El Hijo also insists on telling people he is 11.).

How many bulls has Andres fought, I asked Sr. Luis?

Luis mistook my question. “He has killed seven bejcerros,” he said emphatically, as he watched Brian charge at El Andi.

 Andres Roca Rey photographed by Jorge Vera, copyright 2008

A bejcerro is a young bull, EF explained. After that, come the novios (teen bulls) and toros (full-grown bulls).

 EH chewed over this idea of Andres killing seven bulls. “That’s bad for the bulls,” he said to me in English.

“You bet,” I said.

The two young matadors took a break from practicing.

“How do you feel when you’re in the ring?” EF asked El Andi. The young bullfighter has a sweet, open face that takes on a look of deep concentration when he’s staring down a pair of horns.

“I feel calm,” he said.

“Don’t you get scared.”

“No. I am never scared,” said El Andi.

“A little fear is good,” pointed out EF.

“Yes, well, I feel a little fear,” El Andi finally admitted.

I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.