Bull Humor

As in his previous creations, the freshness and originality of this new collection of Betto's drawings - caricatures, actually - also captivates us from the first page. The motif chosen on this occasion is the protagonists of the “fiesta brava”: the bull and the bullfighter. Although Alberto Martínez, the citizen, is not a bullfighting fan, Betto, the artist, is. Among other things, he recognizes and admires the eminently plastic dimension of the show, its rituals, its clothing and its fortunes. He also knows that it is a deeply rooted cultural heritage and that since ancient times the bull has been a central object of religious cults and an inexhaustible source of inspiration for poets, artists and musicians.

In this sense, just as the arena is the meeting place between the bull and the bullfighter, this book by Betto is then a meeting point between bullfighters and non-bullfighters. Its fine and sharp lines are not intended to be a diatribe against the party. They thus resemble a return to the ring in 124 drawings, with a bull that comes out on its shoulders through the big door. Because in Betto's images, as in all good cartoons, the protagonists never die.