The Plaza de toros El Progreso[2] was a bullring in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco. It was used for bullfighting and also for hosting musical events. The venue could hold 14,000 people and was built in 1856.
 | |
| Address | Hospicio and Cabañas streets (currently, Paseo de los Monosabios) |
|---|---|
| Location | Guadalajara, Jalisco |
| Coordinates | 20°40′36″N 103°20′19″W / 20.67667°N 103.33861°W |
| Owner | Ignacio García Aceves (last one) |
| Capacity | 14,000 |
| Surface | beige sand |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1856 |
| Demolished | January 1979[1] |
History
editThis venue was inaugurated in 1856,[3] with a bullfight starring matador Lizo Zamora, who charged 50 pesos for fighting five bulls from haciendas near the capital city of Jalisco, when some streets of Guadalajara were cobbled, like the ones near this bullring, and others were simply dirt roads, generally in the suburbs.
Bullfighters such as Rodolfo Gaona The Caliph of León, Juan Silveti, Luis Castro "el Soldado", Carmelo Pérez, Pepe Ortiz Puga, Manuel Martínez Ancira, as well as the novillero Fermín Espinosa "Armillita", fought bulls on the sand of this bullring.
In addition to bullfighting, the bullring was the scene of aerostatic elevations by Abraham Dávalos, Tranquilino Alemán and others, who, hanging from a trapeze, thrilled the public with their acrobatics; presentations of the English clown Ricardo Bell, who with his performances caused the hilarity of the crowd; concerts by musical groups transported in the Caravana Corona (sponsored by the beer bearing that trademark), in the 1960s, led by singer-songwriter and guitarist from El Salto, Mike Laure; and presentations of the Hermanos Martínez Gil.[4]
Last bullfight
editAfter decades of being the scene of memorable bullfights and other shows, the bullfighting arena in the traditional San Juan de Dios neighborhood had to offer the last bullfight, held on Monday, 1 January 1979, featuring only two of the three programmed and announced bullfighters, in what became a one-on-one between Manolo Arruza and Miguel Espinosa "Armillita", since who was going to be the second bullfighter, David Silveti, became ill.[5][6] The six bulls that were fought that Monday afternoon were three from a Valle de Guadalupe, Jalisco, fighting-bull ranch named San Mateo[7] (third, fifth, and sixth, as per the order of their appearance), and three from a Zacatecan fighting-bull ranch named Valparaíso[8] (first, second, and fourth). The "Farewell" walking around the bullring was carried out by the two matadors, their subordinates, the businessman Ignacio García Aceves, VIPs, picturesque characters, and an endless number of gatecrashers, while the public, which packed the venue, sang Las golondrinas, composed by Mexican physician and songwriter Narciso Serradell Sevilla.[9]
Demolition
editDays after the final bullfight, and after more than 122 years of functioning as a bullfighting venue, the authorities of the State of Jalisco commissioned architect Ignacio Díaz Morales[2] to demolish the bullring and many buildings and houses in downtown Guadalajara, in an area of 8.64 acres or 376,737 square feet (35,000 square meters), to make way for the construction of Plaza Tapatía,[1] which was inaugurated on 5 February 1982 by the then President of Mexico, José López Portillo, and the then Governor of Jalisco, Flavio Romero de Velasco.[10]
Description
editThis venue was a first-class bullring, although at the beginning –1856– the maximum capacity was 3,000 spectators, later it had several extensions, until it had a capacity for 14,000 seated fans.
References
edit
- ^ a b "Demolición de 70 % de las fincas para la gran plaza (Demolition of 70% of buildings for the great square). Please go to the digital newspaper library of El Informador; once there, please look for the orange words "Navegación Directa", tap/click on them, then click on a square, left of "No Soy Un Robot", get approved at the Captcha challenge-response, and look for the date Año (Year) → 1979 █ Mes (Month) → 01 █ Día (Day) → 08, choose page 27, seek an orange rectangle which reads: "Ver PDF" (See PDF), and click/tap on it". El Informador (in Spanish). 8 January 1979. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ a b Palomar Verea, Juan (23 January 2014). "La última oportunidad para El Progreso (The last chance for El Progreso)". Red Arquitectura/ITESO (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ Antigua Plaza de toros El Progreso de Guadalajara (in Spanish). Jalisco y su historia. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Estos son los artistas que recibirán hoy el Disco de Plata Discorama (These are the artists who will receive the Discorama Silver Record today). Please go to the digital newspaper library of El Informador; once there, please look for the orange words "Navegación Directa", tap/click on them, then click on a square, left of "No Soy Un Robot", get approved at the Captcha challenge-response, and look for the date Año (Year) → 1965 █ Mes (Month) → 01 █ Día (Day) → 31, choose page 15, seek an orange rectangle which reads: "Ver PDF" (See PDF), click/tap on it, and scroll down to the very bottom of page 15, where you will be able to see an advertisement". El Informador (in Spanish). 31 January 1965. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ ""Armillita" va a figura; "El Progreso" a sepultura. Please go to the digital newspaper library of El Informador; once there, please look for the orange words "Navegación Directa", tap/click on them, then click on a square, left of "No Soy Un Robot", get approved at the Captcha challenge-response, and look for the date Año (Year) → 1979 █ Mes (Month) → 01 █ Día (Day) → 01, choose page 9, seek an orange rectangle which reads: "Ver PDF" (See PDF), and click/tap on it". El Informador (in Spanish). 1 January 1979. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "El Progreso. Manolo Arruza, David Silveti, Miguel Espinosa "Armillita". (ad displayed in the middle left). Please go to the digital newspaper library of El Informador; once there, please look for the orange words "Navegación Directa", tap/click on them, then click on a square, left of "No Soy Un Robot", get approved at the Captcha challenge-response, and look for the date Año (Year) → 1979 █ Mes (Month) → 01 █ Día (Day) → 01, choose page 18, seek an orange rectangle which reads: "Ver PDF" (See PDF), and click/tap on it". El Informador (in Spanish). 1 January 1979. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Asociación Nacional de Criadores de Toros de Lidia (ANCTL, National Association of Fighting Bull Breeders). San Mateo". Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Asociacion Nacional de Criadores de Toros de Lidia (ANCTL, National Association of Fighting Bull Breeders). Valparaíso". Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Ya habrá historia; todo a la memoria (There will be history; everything to memory). Please go to the digital newspaper library of El Informador; once there, please look for the orange words "Navegación Directa", tap/click on them, then click on a square, left of "No Soy Un Robot", get approved at the Captcha challenge-response, and look for the date Año (Year) → 1979 █ Mes (Month) → 01 █ Día (Day) → 02, choose page 13, seek an orange rectangle which reads: "Ver PDF" (See PDF), and click/tap on it". El Informador (in Spanish). 2 January 1979. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Inauguró JLP las obras del centro metropolitano (JLP inaugurated the works of the metropolitan center). Please go to the digital newspaper library of El Informador; once there, please look for the orange words "Navegación Directa", tap/click on them, then click on a square, left of "No Soy Un Robot", get approved at the Captcha challenge-response, and look for the date Año (Year) → 1982 █ Mes (Month) → 02 █ Día (Day) → 06, choose page 29, seek an orange rectangle which reads: "Ver PDF" (See PDF), and click/tap on it". El Informador (in Spanish). 6 February 1982. Retrieved 5 December 2022.