Pre-Teen Bullfighters Latest Craze in Mexico
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Not much larger than the bulls they challenge, baby-faced bullfighters are the star attraction throughout Mexico, receiving top billing from promoters who deem them a new means to bring people to the arena for ticket sales.
9 year old Michelito Lagravere Peniche awaits his turn in the bullring.
Photo Jennifer Szymaszek / The New York Times
Mexican regulations allow young bullfighters to face very real danger in the ring to fight younger bulls, and their fights still feature the traditional killing of the bull at the end. The growing rage has sparked criticism from those who say the dangers are too high to use children, who would not be allowed to fight professionally in Spain under the age of 16.
Pursuing his father’s tradition, Jairo began as an apprentice bullfighter at the age of 12 in Mexico. The Spanish boy’s professional career was nearly ended in Aguascalientes on April 15th by a life-threatening incident when he was gored by a 900 pound (409 kilos) bull that pierced his lung, coming very close to his heart.
“We’ve had the opportunity to take care of other bullfighters but nothing this serious.” said Dr. Alfredo Ruíz Romero, the surgeon who treated him. “And he’s the youngest bullfighter we’ve seen. He’s a boy.”
As for whether he is too young to face bulls, Ruíz commented, “It’s a question that’s hard to answer. There are many risks in life. I doubt the father is forcing him to do this. He may be influencing him but this boy wants to be a bullfighter. When you talk to him, you see that. He’s serious about it.”
Jairo was back in the ring in Mexico after several months of rehabilitation in Spain, and gored once again on September 2nd with a 6 inch (15-centimeter) gash in his derriere. Refusing to leave the ring without killing the bull before being treated gained him recognition in Mexico City’s bullfighting press for his bravery.
In the face of the injuries, Jairo has no desire to relinquish the sport. “I’ve never thought of quitting. I’ve spent my life doing this. This is what I love.” said Jairo. (Yes, all 12 years of his long existence on this earth.)
His father Antonio Sánchez Cáceres who retired as a matador in 1993 is now his manager, trainer and companion on the road. The pair live in Mexico during bullfighting season from October through March, while their family remains in Spain.
Sánchez said it was his worst nightmare to see his son so seriously injured, recalling the desperate look on his son’s face as he moaned, “I’m dying, dad. I’m dying.”
Putting the incident behind him, Jairo has decided to practice more before he attempts the dramatic ‘cape pass’ he performed when he was speared, in which he falls to his knees as the bull approaches.
Reflecting on the dangers bullfighters face, he said, “We’re just normal people but we have a profession that puts us in dangerous spots. Motorcycles and cars have even more deaths. But the car, you can control. A bull thinks for himself.”
Photo Shantouman
Even smaller but just as committed is 9 year old Michelito, also following in his matador father’s footsteps. “Those who know how to bullfight aren’t scared. I’m completely calm.” he says.
His mother, Diana Peniche Marenco, said he preferred capes and swords as a toddler to toys. Michelito faced a young calf when he was merely 4 1/2 as a prank, then declared to his parents he planned to become a bullfighter.
“As a mother, of course I’m concerned. But this is what he wants to do.” said Peniche, who manages the bullfighting ring in Mérida.
Michelito has never been gored, partly because he faces far tamer animals, but he has still had some close calls. The bull appeared to walk all over him as he stumbled to the turf during his most recent excursion. Michelito emerged sobbing but remained in the ring to take a sword to the bull.
Photo The*Mtndew
Bullfighting advocates say they have no interest in throwing children in with beasts. Under Mexican rules, young matadors like Michelito confront 1 year old bulls, while more experienced apprentices like Jairo confront 3 year olds which are far more hostile.
The deadliest bulls are those over the age of 5 which are harder to fool and capable of taking lives, and only faced by full-fledged matadors.
The deadliest bulls are those over the age of 5. They are fully developed, harder to fool and capable of taking lives. Only full-fledged matadors wave capes in their direction.
Once the bull is down felled by darts and a well-placed sword, Marco Antonio Vasquez, hooks the corpse up to horses and drags it out of the ring. A job he has been doing all his life as his father before him, he is now teaching the tricks of the trade to his 14 year old son Jésus. “It’s what I want to do.” Jésus says.
Photo Daveblueowls
“It used to be the same old matadors for years and then they began making it more interesting with these young ones.” said José Martín, a taxi driver and bullfighting fan.
Martín enjoys the young talent but he is also a father of a boy the same age as Jairo and he cannot imagine his 14 year old in the ring. “My son can barely handle a bull that is chopped up on his plate. He’d get hurt by a toy bull.” he said.
Jairo said he sometimes encounters protesters in Mexico’s bullrings who yell “Assassin!” at him. Sometimes he cannot help himself and he yells back at them.
“Why don’t they try to end wars.” he says of the growing anti-bullfighting movement in the country. “There are people dying. Why are they so concerned about the bulls?”
Source: Herald Tribune
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hmmm ….certainly a dangerous pastime…..but no more dangerous than surfing IMO…..and they start very young over here….it’s always a worry with surfing because of sharks…eek…
great post Deborah
That’s true Kim. I hadn’t thought of the sharks, and as we’ve recently heard, crocodiles are a serious concern as well!
I think that it is a very interesting and amusing article. Practically all its main points are true.
I really don’t agree with bull fighting. It’s cruel to the bulls! I hope that lots of people die so that they decide to ban it… as mean as it sounds.