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Christian Montcouquiol ("Nimeño II") (born in
Toros magazine profile, Sept. 1999 (French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimeno Ii 1954 births 1991 suicides French bullfighters Suicides by hanging in France
Christian Montcouquiol ("Nimeño II") (born in Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, March 10, 1954, died in Caveirac
Caveirac (; oc, Cavairac) is a commune and a village in the Gard department in southern France. It is located west of Nîmes and is the first village in the Vaunage reached when travelling from Nîmes. Its early history is unclear but it wa ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, November 25, 1991) was a French matador
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 activit ...
.
Biography
Christian Montcouquiol was the brother of Alain Montcouquiol, a bullfighter known as "Nimeño I". From 1975 to 1982, Christian appeared in arenas in Spain, France, and Latin America under the direction of Spanish promoter Manolo Chopera. In 1982, Christian separated from Chopera and turned to his brother Alain for management. On May 14, 1989 inNîmes
Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
, Nimeño II and Portuguese torero Victor Mendes were scheduled to fight six bulls. Mendes was injured early in the match, and Nimeño II won renown for defeating all six bulls single-handedly.
Death
On September 10, 1989 in Arles, Nimeño II was hurled into the air by a bull named Pañolero. He landed on his head, fracturing hiscervical vertebrae
In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In ...
and suffering paraplegia
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
. After months of rehabilitation, Nimeño regained the use of his legs and right arm, but his left arm remained paralyzed. On November 25, 1991, Nimeño II committed suicide by hanging himself in his garage.
Honors
The bullfighting arenas ofEauze
Eauze (; Gascon: ''Eusa'') is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.
History
Located in the heart of south-west France, 130 kilometers from the Spanish border, Eauze is originally a proto-Basque city that became Roman. It was t ...
and Caveirac are named for Nimeño II. There are commemorative plaques to Nimeño II in the arenas of Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
, Mont-de-Marsan
Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Population
Military installations
The French Air and Space Force operates the ''Constantin Rozan ...
, and Béziers
Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...
in France, and Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...
in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. At the arena in Nîmes, a statue of Nimeño II (above) was erected, and the annual "Trophy Nimeño II" is awarded there to the leading novillero without picadors. The street in front of the Béziers arena is named "Plaza Nimeño II".
Career highlights
* Public debut, March 30, 1967, inTarascon
Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tarasc ...
, France
* First novillada without picador
A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...
s, July 19, 1969, Saint-Gilles (France), novillos from André Pourquier
* First novillada with picadors, May 28, 1972, Lunel (France) -- and first resounding success, the beginning of his public career, after which he never appeared without picadors.
* May 17, 1975 in Nìmes (France), novillos from Matías Bernardos.
* First appearance in Spain, August 17, 1975, in Santiestéban (Jaén) -- novillos from Germán Gervás.
* Alternativa in Nìmes, May 28, 1977—padrino, Angel Teruel; testigo, Manzaneres—bulls from Torestrella.
* First appearance as a matador in Spain, May 30, 1977, in Barcelona—bulls from Matías Bernardos.
* Confirmed his alternativa in Mexico, January 28, 1979, padrino, Manolo Martines, testigo, Dámaso González—bulls from Tequisquiapan.
* Confirmed his alternativa in Madrid, May 21, 1979, padrino, Rafael de Paula; testigo, Angel Teruel—bulls from Luis Algarra
References
Alain Montcouquiol, ''Recouvre-le de lumière'' (1998), (French)External links
Toros magazine profile, Sept. 1999 (French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimeno Ii 1954 births 1991 suicides French bullfighters Suicides by hanging in France