José Gómez Ortega

Joselito

Joselito
Personal information
Birth name José Gómez Ortega
Nickname(s) Gallito
Joselito el Gallo
Born (1895-05-08)May 8, 1895
Gelves, Andalucia, Spain
Died May 16, 1920(1920-05-16) (aged 25)
Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Sport
Sport Bullfighting
Rank Matador
Bullfighting career
School Sevillan
Début novillero 1 October 1912
Fuente de Berro
Alternativa 28 September 1912 
 • Place Seville
 • Godfather Fernando Gómez García
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Gómez and the second or maternal family name is Ortega.

José Gómez Ortega (8 May 1895 — 16 May 1920), commonly known as Joselito (Spanish pronunciation: [xoseˈlito]), was a Spanish matador in the early twentieth century.

Joselito was considered a child prodigy and was the youngest bullfighter to receive the title of matador de toros, at the age of 17. Joselito followed in arch-rival Juan Belmonte's footsteps and the two ushered in bullfighting's "Golden Age". Joselito was fatally gored in the ring at the age of 25 during a competitive bullfight with his brother-in-law, the matador Ignacio Sánchez Mejías.

Belmonte and Gómez are widely considered to be the most famous bullfighters of all time.[1] Upon his death, the Virgin of Hope of Macarena was famously dressed in an entirely-black ensemble to acknowledge the public's heavy grief; to date, this tribute has never been repeated in Spanish history.


Biography

Early life

José Gómez Ortega was born on 8 May 1895 in Huerta de El Algarrobo, Gelves (Andalusia, Spain) to Fernando Gómez García (1847 — 1897), a bullfighter, and Gabriela Ortega Feria (1862 — 1919), a flamenco singer.

Joselito was a third-generation bullfighter. His father Fernando Gómez García, known as El Gallo (The Rooster) - Joselito's previous nickname, Gallito, was a diminutive form of this nickname; His elder brother Rafael Gómez Ortega, was also a bullfighter known as El Gallo.[1]


References

  1. 1 2 Death and money in the afternoon: a history of the Spanish bullfight. pg 67


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