36-year-old Ivan Fandiño was a famous matador, recognized for his bravery in facing bulls that others deemed too dangerous.
Sadly, his love for bullfighting ended up costing him his life.
In 2017, Fandiño, who hailed from the Basque country, participated in the bullfighting festival in Aire-sur-l’Adour, located in southwest France.
At one moment, the matador got caught in his cloak and fell to the ground, which led to him being gored by the half-ton bull.
When he was removed from the ring, he was bleeding profusely. Emergency services rushed him to the hospital, but he had already suffered a heart attack and passed away.
Reportedly, on the way to the hospital, Fandiño exclaimed, “Hurry up, I’m dying.”
His internal organs, including his lungs, were severely damaged from the bull’s attack.
At one point, the matador got tangled in his cloak and fell to the ground, resulting in him being gored by the half-ton bull.
Matador Juan del Alamo, who later killed the bull, remarked at the time: “I can’t believe it. None of us can comprehend how it happened; it all occurred so quickly. The bull knocked him down with its hindquarters and he fell face first.”
Before the tragic event, Fandiño had suffered injuries twice during bullfighting. In 2015, a bull in Spain tossed him into the air, and the following year, he was knocked out in Bayonne, France.
Fandiño became the first matador to die in France since 1921, when Isidoro Mari Fernando lost his life in the Béziers arena.
At one moment, the matador got caught in his cape and fell, which led to him being gored by the half-ton bull.
Approximately 1,000 bulls die in these fights in France each year.
The Spanish royal family and the prime minister paid tribute to Fandiño, with King Felipe describing him as a “great bullfighter figure.”
Bullfighting is viewed as a controversial and inhumane practice. In 2010, the Catalan regional government in Barcelona voted to ban it, but this decision was reversed by the Spanish constitutional court in 2016, which labeled bullfighting as a “cultural heritage.”
Please SHARE this article with your family and friends on Facebook.
