A RETIRED matador has been gored to death in Malaga while preparing the animals for a traditional Easter weekend Picasso-themed bullfight.
Ricardo Ortiz, 51, was killed on Friday evening as he unloaded bulls at the historic La Malagueta bullring arena, located in the heart of Spain’s sixth largest city, before Saturday night’s ‘Corrida Picassiana’ celebration.
According to event organisers Lances del Futuro, ‘one of the bulls gored him forcefully, causing his death’, as he handled the animals in their enclosures.
“We want to convey our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased, a much loved and respected person in the bullfighting world,” the company said in a statement.
Ortiz was born in Malaga in 1974 and hailed from a family with a rich bullfighting tradition before forging a successful career of his own.
He retired from action in the ring more than two decades ago but continued to help out behind the scenes.
Bullfighting remains divisive in Spain.
Deeply embedded in cultural identity, it is a choreographed cultural ritual, often regarded as an art and involving three main stages (tercios) ending in the bull’s death.
It remains popular in Madrid, Andalucia and the Basque Country, but has been banned in Catalunya since 2010.
Between 2010 and 2023, the number of bullfighting festivals in Spain dropped by a third.
The last professional matador to die during a fight in Spain was Victor Barrio in 2016 in Teruel.
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