The famed bullfighter was killed after becoming caught on his cape. Credit: Jorge Sanz/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
The final moments of Spanish bullfighter Ivan Fandiño’s life, captured in photos and video, are both harrowing and tragic.
They highlight the high-stakes world of bullfighting, which continues to divide opinion.
Fandiño, a veteran matador from the Basque Country, died in 2017 after being gored by a bull during the Aire-sur-l’Adour bullfighting festival in southwest France.
At just 36 years old, he was known for facing bulls that others wouldn’t dare challenge, according to BBC News.
That day, Fandiño had already participated in one competition before stepping into the ring again. However, disaster struck during his second performance.
His feet became entangled in his own cape as he tried to guide the bull through it. While he succeeded on the first attempt, the second ended in catastrophe.
Footage shows him unable to move in time as the half-tonne bull surged forward. Its horn pierced his body, striking multiple vital organs, including his lungs.
As Fandiño tried to escape, the bull gored him a second time, driving its horn into him while he attempted to flee.
Photographs captured the aftermath: Fandiño, conscious but bleeding heavily, being carried off by fellow matadors who quickly distracted the bull to protect him.
While being rushed to the hospital, Fandiño reportedly said his final words: “Hurry up, I’m dying.”
French media later reported that he died from a heart attack en route to the hospital.
Juan del Alamo, the matador who killed the bull after the tragedy, struggled to comprehend the event. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “None of us understand how it could have happened; it was all so fast. The bull knocked him down with its hindquarters and he fell face down.”
Footage of the fatal goring circulated widely online, including on platforms like YouTube via Castilla-La Mancha Media.
Fandiño was no stranger to injury in the ring. In 2015, he was thrown into the air by a bull during the Fiesta de San Fermín in Pamplona. The year before, he was knocked unconscious during a fight in Bayonne, France.
Fandiño’s death marked a grim milestone as the first time a matador had died in France in nearly 100 years. The last was Isidoro Mari Fernando, who was fatally gored in Béziers in 1921.
Despite growing backlash and calls from animal rights advocates to outlaw bullfighting, France’s Constitutional Council ruled in 2012 to keep the tradition legal, recognizing it as part of the nation’s cultural heritage.
Each year, more than 1,000 bulls are killed in French bullfights, especially in regions like Nîmes and Arles where the practice remains popular, according to BBC News.
In Spain, where bullfighting is even more entrenched, the tradition is supported and was declared a protected part of the country’s cultural heritage, despite ongoing protests. Some regions and cities in Spain have banned the practice.
Following Fandiño’s death, tributes poured in. He was honored by both the Spanish royal family and the Prime Minister, marking the loss of a revered fighter. His death also highlighted the ongoing cultural and ethical debate surrounding bullfighting.
