José Gómez Ortega

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Joselito (1919)

José Gómez Ortega (called Joselito ) (born May 8, 1895 in Gelves near Seville , † May 16, 1920 in Talavera de la Reina ) was a Spanish bullfighter . He is one of the most important toreros of the early 20th century and, together with his great rival Juan Belmonte, shaped the golden age of bullfighting in Spain in the 20th century.

José Gómez Ortega belonged to a bullfighter dynasty belonging to the Gitanos ethnic minority . He was the son of the matador Fernando Gómez and the dancer Gabriela Ortega Gómez. From a young age he was enthusiastic about the job that his big brother Rafael also did. Occasionally he accompanied his brother to his bullfights.

On June 13, 1908, Ortega killed his first bull calf at the age of 12 in the arena of Jerez de la Frontera . He soon appeared in the various arenas of his homeland and was nicknamed Joselito. On his 16th birthday he killed 16 bulls. On September 28, 1912, he was appointed matador in a traditional ceremony, the Alternativa . The then 17-year-old was the youngest matador of all time. The solemn recognition of the appointment was carried out on October 1, 1912 as part of a corrida in Madrid .

Ortega improved his technique and demeanor over time. He only accepted the best fighters into his cuadrillas . He led the Spanish matadors and appeared in more than six hundred corridas.

During a corrida in Talavera de la Reina on May 16, 1920, the bull Bailaor hit him so unhappily with the horn that he sustained a deep stab wound, which resulted in his death shortly afterwards. Joselito was initially not registered as a participating matador for this corrida and was only included in the program at short notice at his personal request.

reception

Ernest Hemingway has the protagonists of his book Death in the Afternoon say that Joselito was the best bullfighter of all time.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Joselito | Spanish bullfighter. In: Enzyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved April 22, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c José Luis Ramón Carrión: Joselito. In: Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved April 22, 2020 (Spanish).
  3. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume II.Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2010, ISBN 978-84-96210-71-4 , pp. 127 .
personal data
SURNAME Gomez Ortega, José
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Joselito
BRIEF DESCRIPTION spanish bullfighter
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Gelves near Seville
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 1920
Place of death Talavera de la Reina