Renowned Spanish matador Iván Fandiño tragically lost his life in 2017 after being gored by a bull during a festival in southwestern France.
The incident took place at the bullfighting event in Aire-sur-l’Adour, where the seasoned 36-year-old lost his balance after getting caught up in his cape.
Continue reading to learn more about his haunting final moments, which still resonate with many today.
Fandiño, a father from Spain’s Basque Country, had been a professional matador for over ten years, known for facing bulls that others deemed too perilous. On the day of the tragedy, he had already participated in an earlier match before returning to the ring.
During the fight, Fandiño stumbled over his cape and fell, leading to a collision with the charging bull. The animal, weighing nearly 1,000 pounds, gored him in the torso, injuring several vital organs, including his lungs.
Although he remained conscious as he was taken out of the arena, Fandiño was losing a significant amount of blood. Witnesses later recalled his last words: “Hurry up, I’m dying.” He suffered a fatal heart attack while being transported to the hospital.
Matador Juan del Álamo, who ultimately killed the bull, expressed his shock at the incident: “I can’t believe it. None of us can comprehend how this happened; it all unfolded so quickly. The bull knocked him down with its hindquarters, and he fell face first.”
Fandiño had previously suffered serious injuries. In 2014, he was rendered unconscious in the ring in Bayonne, France, and in 2015, he was thrown into the air during a match in Pamplona, Spain. Nevertheless, his death sent shockwaves through the bullfighting community, marking the first time a matador had died in France in nearly a century. The last was Isidoro Mari Fernando, who passed away in Béziers in 1921, as reported by Sud-Ouest, a regional newspaper in France.
Following Fandiño’s death, tributes flooded in from Spain, including one from King Felipe VI, who recognized him as a “great figure in bullfighting.” The then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also paid his respects.
Fandiño’s passing occurred less than a year after another notable death in the bullring: Spanish matador Víctor Barrio, who was gored to death during a televised event, marking the first matador fatality in Spain in thirty years.
Bullfighting remains a contentious tradition. While it has been banned in some areas, it was deemed legal in France in 2012, with courts ruling it as part of the nation’s cultural heritage. Spain continues to uphold the practice, despite increasing demands from animal rights activists for a complete ban.