Iván Fandiño, a celebrated Spanish matador, tragically lost his life in 2017 during a bullfighting festival in southwest France. At 36 years old, Fandiño was known for bravely facing bulls others considered too risky. During the event at Aire-sur-l’Adour, he was moving in the ring when he tripped over his cape and fell. This stumble left him vulnerable, and the charging bull struck him with its horn.
The bull, weighing nearly 500 kilograms, gored him in the torso, piercing vital organs including his lungs. Witnesses say Fandiño was conscious as he was carried from the ring but was bleeding heavily. His last words, full of urgency, were reported to be, “Hurry up, I’m dying.” Sadly, he experienced a fatal heart attack on the way to the hospital.
The unexpected accident stunned the bullfighting community. Fellow matador Juan del Álamo, who later killed the bull, expressed disbelief at how quickly things happened, recalling that the bull knocked Fandiño down with its hindquarters and he fell face down.
Fandiño had a history of serious injuries in the ring, including being knocked unconscious years earlier and thrown into the air during past fights. Despite these experiences, his death was shocking—it was the first time a matador died in France in nearly a century.
After news of his passing, tributes poured in from across Spain. King Felipe VI called him a “great bullfighting figure,” and then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also expressed condolences.
His death came less than a year after another well-known bullfighter, Víctor Barrio from Spain, died after being gored during a televised bullfight—the first matador fatality in Spain in 30 years.
Bullfighting remains a deeply debated tradition. While banned in some places, France declared it legal in 2012, protecting it as part of local culture, and Spain continues to uphold the practice despite growing opposition from animal rights groups.
