MATADOR

A matador demonstrates his mastery of the bull by touching one of its horns as it stands motionless. in bullfighting, the principal performer, who works the capes and dispatches the bull with a sword thrust between the shoulder blades. The techniques used by modern matadors date from about 1914, when Juan Belmonte revolutionized the ancient spectacle. Formerly, the main object of the fight had been only to prepare the bull for the sword thrust. But Belmonte, a small, slight Andalusian, emphasized the danger to the man by close and graceful capework, and the kill became secondary. He worked closer to the bull's horns than had ever been believed possible and became an overnight sensation. The possibility of death and the matador's disdain for and skillful avoidance of injury thrills the crowd. The audience judges the matador according to his skill, grace, and daring. Therefore, a bullfight, or corrida, is viewed by many people as not so much a struggle between a man and a bull but rather a contest between a man and himself: How close will he dare to let the horns come? How far will he go to please the crowd? Joselito (Jos Gmez Ortega), Belmonte's great friend and rival, considered one of the greatest bullfighters of all time, was killed in the ring in 1920. Almost every matador is gored at least once a season in varying degrees of severity. Belmonte was gored more than 50 times. Of the approximately 125 major matadors (since 1700), more than 40 have been killed in the ring; this total does not include the novilleros (beginning matadors), banderilleros, or picadors who have been killed. The greatest matadors of the 20th century were the Mexicans Rodolfo Gaona, Armillita (Fermn Espinosa), and Carlos Arruza and the Spaniards Belmonte, Joselito, Domingo Ortega, Manolete (Manuel Rodrguez), and El Cordobs (Manuel Bentez Prez). At the turn of the 21st century the favourite was El Juli (Julin Lpez Escobar). Bette Ford, an American female matador. Over the centuries there have been attempts by women to take part in what has traditionally been a masculine art. Francisco Goya depicted a torera, La Pajuelera, and it is reported that a nun, Mara de Gaucn, left the convent for a time to perform in the arena. In the 20th century, Juanita Cruz was taken somewhat seriously by the aficin (bullfighting world) in the 1920s and '30s. Probably the greatest of all matadoras was Conchita Cintrn. Of Puerto Rican and American extraction, she began her career in Peru, conquered the fans of Mexico in the 1940s, and took Spain by storm in 1945. A fine equestrian, she performed equally well on foot or on horseback in the rejoneo. Two American women, Bette Ford and Patricia McCormick, had brief careers as bullfighters in Mexico in the 1950s. Cristina Snchez, a Spaniard, took the alternativa (became a full matador) in 1996 and enjoyed three fairly successful seasons but retired in 1999, citing the hostile attitude of the crowd and harassment by matadors. There have been several French bullfighters, two Chinese toreros, a Japanese aspirant, an African, two Englishmen, and a dozen Americans. They had varying degrees of success. Two Americans, Sidney Franklin in 1945 and John Fulton in 1967, received the alternativa in Spain and became recognized as matadores de toros. Harper Lee Gillete, who performed in Mexico, is considered by many experts to have been the best American bullfighter. Although he received the alternativa in Mexico in 1910, he never fought in Spain. Additional reading Sarah Pink, Women and Bullfighting: Gender, Sex, and the Consumption of Tradition (1997); Eamonn O'Neill, Matadors: A Journey into the Heart of Modern Bullfighting (1998).