If you thought that the famous bull Malacrianza had gone, never to return, think again. The imposing image of that animal who was the greatest challenge for the most daring bull riders in the country remains permanently at La Nueva Esperanza Hacienda in Garza Beach in Nicoya.
Located on one of the hills on the farm, he looks defiant and territorial. His intimidating presence and his deadly horns commemorate the lives of Juan Carlos Cubillo and Jaison Gomez Gomez, courageous bull riders who were victims of his fatal charges.
That is how a bull riding legend was born, first in Guanacaste and then nationally. Admired by many and feared and hated by others, there was commotion, expectation and especially entertainment at every fiesta that “His Majesty” arrived at.
Cunning as few are, from the moment he left the chute, he started to put on his show, and when he felt the leg of the invader, he rubbed up against the boards of the bull ring, warning of a colossal impending performance.
When “gate” was yelled, the reckless passenger on his back embarked on a journey of infuriated and brutal jumps, with impulsive and constant head tossing and long and relentless horns that had the body of the rider as their target.
The ritual was done on more than 200 occasions and there were fatalities like Alex “Alito” Baltodano and Yeiner “El Carrilero” Cisneros, who managed to overcome the force of those 750 kilos (1650 pounds) of power.
The Image of the Legend
Due to the fame acquired during his 15 years of life, after Ubaldo Rodriguez, the bull’s owner, found the lifeless body of one of the hacienda’s darlings in one of the pastures on March 19th, he decided to make a representation of the animal to immortalize his image.
“It’s not exact, but it is almost perfect,” Rodriguez affirmed nostalgically, upon seeing the life-size cement sculpture of the bull for the first time, made by the renowned sculptor from Liberia, Johnny Garcia Clachar.
When he found out about the event, Garcia, who has made sculptures and monuments in Abangares, Carrillo, Liberia, Nicaragua, Nicoya and Santa Cruz, spoke with Rodriguez to plan the details of the sculpture.
The sculptor had previously made a life-size representation of the bull El Oasis, a famous specimen from Los Ahogados Hacienda in Liberia.
After two months of hard work, Garcia completed his work, which cost ¢3,800,000 ($7,200) and took about two hours to load into a special tow truck in which he was taken to several places in the province.
“I took the bull for a spin around the park in Liberia in a tow truck that tows cars. I stopped in Belen of Carrillo, as well as in Philadelphia. I went into Santa Cruz, to the park and Nicoya. It was a whole caravan and everyone wanted to take a photo with the bull,” said Garcia Clachar.
Finally, ] on October 31st, Malacrianza returned to the land of his birth, never to leave again. His figure watches over La Nueva Esperanza Hacienda, perpetuating the image of one of the fiercest bulls that the country has ever seen.
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