It was supposed to be just another performance for one of Spain’s most fearless matadors. But what unfolded in the bullring that day in France would go down as one of the most tragic moments in modern bullfighting history.
Iván Fandiño, a veteran Spanish bullfighter known for his bold, high risk style, faced what appeared to be an ordinary challenge at the Aire sur l’Adour festival in southwest France. But with one misstep, the arena turned silent, and moments later, the world lost a legendary figure in the sport.
Fandiño, 36, was known for confronting the most dangerous bulls, earning admiration for his confrontational techniques that recalled the traditions of old school bullfighting.
Born in the Basque town of Orduña, he had built a 12 year career defined by both triumph and trauma. He had previously survived being hurled into the air by a bull in Pamplona in 2015 and was knocked unconscious in Bayonne in 2014 events that did little to shake his courage.
But this time was different.
While performing a series of signature chicuelina moves, Fandiño’s foot caught in his own cape. The stumble was brief but catastrophic. In that instant, he fell face down in the ring, helpless, as a 1100 pound bull named Provechito charged toward him.
The bull gored him in the torso, puncturing his lung, kidney, and liver, and severing the inferior vena cava the major vein that transports blood to the heart. Despite the chaotic rush of medics and aides to the ring, the damage was already done.
Spectators looked on in horror as Fandiño was rushed out of the arena.
According to French reports, he suffered a heart attack in the ambulance and was pronounced dead upon arrival at Mont de Marsan hospital.
What struck many the most wasn’t the brutality of the goring, but the words Fandiño managed to say as he was carried away words that would echo through bullfighting history and beyond.
“Hurry up, I’m dying,” he reportedly told those around him.
Those final moments, captured by multiple witnesses, sparked an emotional response not only among his supporters but also among critics of the sport.
“He knew,” said one eyewitness. “He felt it. He said it. And then he was gone.”
The tragedy made headlines across Europe, with tributes pouring in from bullfighting aficionados, political figures, and the broader Spanish community.
King Felipe VI of Spain publicly honored him as a “great bullfighter figure,” while then Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called his death “a tremendous loss to Spanish heritage.”
Fandiño’s death was the first matador fatality in France in nearly 100 years the last being Isidoro Mari Fernando in 1921. In Spain, he joined a short list of toreros who had died in the ring, including Victor Barrio, who was gored live on television in 2016.
Monuments in his hometown of Orduña and the bullfighting arenas where he once drew crowds now stand in his memory. But with that legacy comes a bitter debate.
Animal rights groups reignited calls to ban the practice entirely, calling bullfighting a “barbaric spectacle.” Organizations like PETA and French advocacy groups demanded action, with one activist saying, “No one should die for tradition, not the bull, not the man.”
Yet, despite the growing international pressure, both Spain and France continue to legally protect the tradition Spain under national heritage laws, and France through regional exemptions.
Bullfighting fans say that Fandiño knew the risks and embraced them.
“He lived for the ring,” said fellow matador Juan del Álamo, who later killed the bull. “It was fast. No one could believe it. The bull knocked him down, and that was it.”
Fandiño’s name remains etched in the history of bullfighting not just for his skill, but for his final words, a chilling reminder of how thin the line between art and mortality truly is in this ancient, dangerous sport.
And in the end, it wasn’t the bull that took him. It was a cape, a stumble, and a moment of fate.
Feature Image Credit: (YouTube/Castilla-La Mancha Media)
