Ernesto Pastor Lavergne (April 4, 1892 - June 11, 1921)''La web de las Biografias: Ernesto Pastor Lavergne''
/ref> was the first of only two Puerto Rican-born bullfighters (''

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 ...

s'') to gain international fame, the other being Juan Ramón Fernandez.

Early life and career

Some date Pastor's birth year as 1900, but it is generally accepted that he was born in 1892. He was born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

to a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

father and French mother. Pastor was considered by his contemporary colleagues to be talented both with the sword and the cape. On January 15, 1911, he made his public debut, at a ''plaza'' in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

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 ...

. There, he would be revered as one of the best of his era. Pastor relocated to Spain in 1916, fighting for the first time there on May 16, 1916 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. In Spain, he was mentored by

José Gómez Ortega José Gómez Ortega (8 May 1895 – 16 May 1920), commonly known as Joselito (), was a Spanish matador in the early twentieth century. Younger brother of matador de toros Rafael Gómez Ortega ("El Gallo"), Joselito was considered a child pro ...

. In 1918, Pastor engaged in 38 bullfighting spectacles, and in 1919, he debuted in Madrid.

Death

It was in Madrid on June 11, 1921 that Pastor met with death. On June 11, 1921, during a bullfighting event, his leg was gored by a bull. Bleeding profusely, he managed to ask ''who turned off the lights?'' before passing away. The hemorrhage in his leg had caused him to go blind before dying.

References

External links

* 19th-century births 1921 deaths People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican bullfighters Sport deaths in Spain Puerto Rican emigrants to Spain {{PuertoRico-sport-bio-stub

Early life and career

Death

See also

References

External links