Posted on 04/04/2026 2:57:02 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
A retired matador was killed by a bull on Friday as he prepared the animals for a bullfight at an arena in Málaga, in southern Spain, organizers said.
Ricardo Ortiz was handling the bulls in their enclosures at La Malagueta, a historic bullring in Málaga, when one of the animals gored him, according to Lances de Futuro, the company organizing the bullfight.
“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 statement said.
Ortiz’s death came a day before a Picasso-themed bullfight, during which three bullfighters will face six bulls, is scheduled to take place at the arena.
Ortiz, born in Málaga in 1974, was from a family of bullfighters and had a successful career of his own, Spanish newspaper El País reported.
Bullfighting and bullrunning, both of which are emblematic of stereotypical Spanish culture, have become increasingly controversial in recent years, caught in the crosshairs of a culture war and condemned by animal rights activist groups.
Between 2010 and 2023, the number of bullfighting festivals in Spain dropped by a third, according to Reuters.
Elsewhere across the world too, the practice is declining. Colombia passed a bill in 2024 banning bullfighting there by 2027, after which only seven countries around the world will host bullfights. And Mexico City overhauled the tradition last year, after its local congress passed a measure to make bullfights less harmful to both bulls and matadors by banning the use of spades and swords to attack the animals.
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Bovine revenge is a hell of a thing...
The bull has one job...
Say what you want, but sticking a sword between a bulls shoulders to drop him at your feet is a bad ass move. It’s a high level of skill and guts.
Some of my friends knife hunt boar. That’s another venture I’ll take a pass on.
And Beau (6’3” 200+ pounds) wonders why I won’t get into the pen with our steer, LOL!
Me: 5’ nothing, 145 pounds. Stew the Steer: 5’ at his shoulder, 1500 pounds!
And Stew is a sweetheart - but prone to ‘kicking up his heels’ in JOY when he sees me coming with the grain bucket! ;)
Stew’s ‘Spa Date’ is April 16th, but don’t tell him. He’s living his best life for now. ;)
I appreciate the art of it, but I’m glad it’s a dying art.
Exactly! But I’m pretty sure Bugs will outsmart Da Bull, anyway. ;)
The vet I worked for always said that cattle have wonderful lives...until that last day.
LOL! One of those ugly cars foisted upon the American public!
I never liked Bull fighting.
the ultimate test of a man is
survival from an equal or
greater force.
Be that in military combat or
marriage.
The results tell your fitness.
That’s exactly what we try to do for our steers. We’re thinking about meat chickens, next.
Asking ‘Santa’ for one of those spinning feather pluckers first, though. ;)
Having plucked chickens as a kid, I can live without that as an adult!
Barcelona Edition!
I think we all learned from Pat Benatar that...Love Is A Battlefield. ;)
LOL. Stew probably think's he going to get lucky!
In before “Mess with the bull, get the horn.”
Not too sure her song writer was
a prophet,
but they were very observant.
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