Antonio Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez (born January 13, 1977 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain) is a Spanish ''

torero A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...

'' or 'bullfighter'.

Family ties

Rivera is the son of Francisco Rivera '

Paquirri Francisco Rivera Pérez, known as Paquirri (March 5, 1948 – September 26, 1984), was a Spanish bullfighter. Death Paquirri was gored by a bull named "Avispado" (Spanish for street-smart, or wasp-like) during a bullfight in Pozoblanco ( Cór ...

' and Carmen Ordóñez. He belongs to a long line of famous bullfighters: his great-grandfather was

Cayetano Ordóñez Cayetano Ordóñez y Aguilera (January 24, 1904, Ronda, Spain - October 30, 1961, Madrid, Spain) is the patriarch of the Ordóñez family of bullfighters. His parents owned a shoeshop called ''La Palma'', which gave him his nickname (Niño de ...

, who fought under the name 'El Niño de la Palma', and was the inspiration for the young matador in

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

's novel ''

The Sun Also Rises ''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bu ...

''. His grandfather, the great matador

Antonio Ordóñez Antonio Ordóñez Araujo (16 February 1932 – 19 December 1998) was a Spanish bullfighter. Early life Antonio Jiménez Ordóñez Araujo was born in Ronda, Spain, on 16 February 1932. His father was Cayetano Ordóñez, called ''Niño de la Pal ...

, was a friend of Hemingway and of

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. Antonio is the subject, with Cayetano's ''torero'' great-uncle Luis Miguel Dominguín, of Hemingway's book ''

The Dangerous Summer ''The Dangerous Summer'' is a nonfiction book by Ernest Hemingway published posthumously in 1985 and written in 1959 and 1960. The book describes the rivalry between bullfighters Luis Miguel Dominguín and his brother-in-law, Antonio Ordóñez, ...

''. His father

was killed by the bull Avispado when Cayetano was 8. His elder brother is the matador

Francisco Rivera Ordóñez Francisco de Asís Rivera Ordóñez (prev. The Duke of Montoro; born 3 January 1974 in Madrid) is a Spanish ''torero'' or 'bullfighter'. Family lineage Rivera comes from a long line of famous bullfighters: his great-grandfather was Cayetano Or ...

Career

Rivera made his novice debut 'con picadores' on March 26, 2005. On September 9, 2006, he took his 'alternativa' to become a full matador in the bullring with which his family is most associated in Ronda with his brother, Francisco, as his 'padrino.' He cut four ears of the two bulls he fought that day. In 2007 he was on the cover of

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

with

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (; ; born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British A ...

for an editorial titled 'Made in Spain' shot by

Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...

. Rivera met Giorgio Armani in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in 2006 and the Italian designer proposed to design a 'suit of lights' for Rivera to wear during the bullfights of the world famous 'feria goyesca' celebrating the first matador,

Pedro Romero Pedro Romero Martínez (19 November 1754 – 10 February 1839) was a legendary bullfighter from the Romero family in Ronda, Spain. His grandfather Francisco is credited with advancing the art of using the muleta; his father and two brothers we ...

, in his - and Rivera's - hometown of

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

. Cayetano's grandfather founded the feria in the 1950s and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

designed his suit for him. Cayetano has also represented the men's luxury fashion house Loewe as brand ambassador. During the 2009 season he fought in 58 festivals and cut 77 ears, ranking him as number 6 in Spain on the ''Escalafón Matadores'', the 'Matadors Ladder', up from number 16 in 2008. That year, before a corrida in

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River oppos ...

, he met with British author and amateur bullfighter

Alexander Fiske-Harrison Alexander Rupert Fiske-Harrison (born 22 July 1976) is an English author, producer, financier and conservationist. His writing is known for his immersion in his subject matter. He trained and worked for some years as a Method actor. For his fi ...

, for an interview for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. He invited Fiske-Harrison to join him in the bullring, and, later that year, to stay with him and his family during the 'feria goyesca' in Ronda. This is recounted in ''Into The Arena: The World Of The Spanish Bullfight''. (The book went on to be shortlisted for the

William Hill Sports Book of the Year The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports literary award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. The award is dedicated to rewarding excellence in sports writing. It was first awarded in 1989, and was devised by Graham ...

in 2011.) In September 2012 the documentary filmmaker Stevan Riley, in an interview with

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

about his cinema documentary ''Everything And Nothing: 50 Years Of James Bond'', said that he was currently making a feature-length documentary on

bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

with Cayetano for cinematic release. It is being produced by the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning

John Battsek John Battsek is a British film producer of documentary films. Battsek co-founded Passion Pictures, a two-time Oscar-winning and four-time Oscar nominated independent production company. In 2020, Battsek departed Passion Pictures to launch cre ...

's Passion Pictures. Fiske-Harrison is the writer on the project and is co-producing it with Mephisto Productions. Cayetano soon afterwards announced his temporary retirement from professional bullfighting to pursue "other projects".Editorial staff
'Cayetano Rivera deja de torear temporalmente'
''El Mundo'', 7 October 2012

References

External links

Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera Ordonez, Cayetano 1977 births Living people Spanish bullfighters Sportspeople from Madrid