El Cordobés
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Manuel Benítez Pérez, called " El Cordobés " (born May 4, 1936 in Palma del Río , Province of Córdoba ), is a former Spanish bullfighter .
After a childhood and youth marked by poverty and the consequences of the Spanish civil war , he began his career as a torero in 1959 in Talavera de la Reina as a novillero (young bull fighter). In 1960 he first took part in a bullfight with horses and picadores in his hometown of Palma del Río . After 203 appearances as novillero , he completed his Alternativa on May 25, 1963 in Córdoba and became a matador. He ended his career in 1971, but returned sporadically to the arena from 1979 (official end of career) to 1981. Most recently, he completed two corridas in 2000 before declaring his final resignation.
His fighting style deviated from the previous "classic" scheme because it also contained sports and show elements. This is why he is not regarded as one of the most talented matadors among purists of bullfighting , although these also attest to his courage not previously shown in the arena. Today he is considered the " eminence gray " of bullfighting, has received many awards and is still popular in Spain twenty years after his career ended.
In 2002 he was named fifth caliph of bullfighting by the city of Cordoba , an honorary title previously awarded to only four toreros, including Manolete .
Based on the life story of Benitez, the West End musical Matador was created in 1991 , written by Mike Leander and Edward Seago as well as Peter Jukes ( libretto ). However, the musical was never intended as a biography, but rather tells of the rise and fall of a fictionalized matador. Rafael Aguilar's impressive, flamenco-based choreographies earned the show an Olivier the following year . A concept album and several singles by singers Tom Jones and John Barrowman were also released . The latter had starred in London's West End.
literature
- El Cordobés , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 43/1973 of October 15, 1973, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
- Larry Collins , Dominique Lapierre : "... or you will bear grief." The fantastic life of El Cordobés. Novel. Molden, Munich 1988 (frequent ed.)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | El Cordobés |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Benítez Pérez, Manuel |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | spanish bullfighter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 4, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Palma del Río , Province of Cordoba |