José Humberto Eslava "Pepe" Cáceres (March 16, 1935 - August 16, 1987) was a Colombian

bullfighter 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 ...

. Born in

Honda, Tolima Honda is a town and municipality in the Tolima department of Colombia. The population of the municipality was 23,616 as of the census 2018. Along with Líbano, Honda is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Líbano-Honda. The main industr ...

, Colombia, he is often regarded as one of the finest bullfighters ever and the best-known bullfighter Colombia has ever produced. He was also a breeder of bulls and bullfighting organizer.

Early life and education

During his younger years, Cáceres was more inclined to football than bullfighting. In 1949 he witnessed a bullfight in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

and then decided to become a torero. He debuted as a bullfighter on November 1, 1952 and traveled to Spain in 1955. He debuted in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, Spain on April 10, 1955 and was injured by the first bull he faced. However, he proceeded to dispatch ten young bulls in his first season with great success. He took the alternative in the Feria de Abril at the Maestranza de Sevilla on September 30, 1956, with his godfather, Antonio Bienvenida. His most famous victories over his long career were in Mexico and the Monumental Plaza de Toros in Bogota.

Career

In his career he had been seriously wounded at least five times yet he could not bring himself to retire. He had remarked in an interview "I think all bullfighters live with the hope of continuing in the bullfighting atmosphere, to prolong the taurine feast". He was seriously injured a sixth time, a goring that he received from the bull "Monín" on July 20, 1987 in

Sogamoso Sogamoso () is a city in the department of Boyacá of Colombia. It is the capital of the Sugamuxi Province, named after the original Sugamuxi. Sogamoso is nicknamed "City of the Sun", based on the original Muisca tradition of pilgrimage and ador ...

, Colombia. He was trapped up against the boards and was mauled by the bull. It resulted in a pierced lung that proved to be fatal. He had been a professional bullfighter for 31 years and had announced his retirement for the next year. As a bullfighter, he is considered one of the best in the use of the cape, but his difficulty to kill was always his greatest professional limitation. He often refused to set 'flags' in the bulls he fought. The set known as Cacerina, bringing down the bull while riding it at the time of the fatal stab, was his creation.

Awards and recognitions

He is honoured by a statue outside the

Santamaría Bullring Santamaría Bullring (Spanish: ''Plaza de Toros de Santamaría'') is a bullring in Bogotá, Colombia, and it is currently used for bullfighting, although it has also been used for concerts and other cultural activities. The stadium holds 14,50 ...

in Bogotá.

Personal life

Pepe Cáceres married Olga Lucia Botero, the 1962 Colombian candidate to

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

. Together, they had two children: Francisco and Adriana. Pepe Cáceres later married actress Lyda Zamora and divorced. With her he had two children, Lyda Eugenia and José Andrés. He then married Valle del Cauca artist Olga Lucía Vélez. He had three children with her: Manuela, Natasha and Sebastián, a Colombian television actor.

References

1935 births 1987 deaths People from Honda, Tolima Colombian bullfighters 20th-century Colombian people {{Colombia-bullfighting-bio-stub