Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (6 June 1891,

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

– 13 August 1934,

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 ...

) was a Spanish matador. After his death following a goring (''

cornada 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 ...

'') in the Plaza of Manzanares, he was memorialized by several poets of the

Generation of '27 The Generation of '27 ( es, Generación del 27) was an influential group of poets that arose in Spanish literary circles between 1923 and 1927, essentially out of a shared desire to experience and work with avant-garde forms of art and poetry. ...

, notably by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

in his ''Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías'' ("Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías", sometimes translated under the title "Lament for the Death of a Bullfighter").

Early life

Sánchez Mejías was born in 1891 in the Calle de la Palma, Seville, to a wealthy doctor. During the 1910s he became close friends with future bullfighter José "Joselito" Gómez, who later became his brother-in-law. During his teen years he stowed away on a ship bound for

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, where in 1910 he debuted as a banderillero in

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and lar ...

Matador de toros

Back in Spain, he appeared in Madrid in September 1913, and on 21 June 1914 in his native Seville, where he received a goring that broke his

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates ...

and delayed his career for years. Sánchez Mejías made his Spanish debut in Madrid 1919 he made his debut 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 c ...

with Joselito and Juan Belmonte Garcia. His alternativa was confirmed in Madrid in April 1920. He appeared in more than 100 fights in 1920, though two additional gorings prevented him from making all planned appearances. On 16 May 1920 Sánchez Mejías was alternating with Joselito in Talavera when his brother-in-law was gored. Sánchez Mejías killed the bull while Joselito was taken to the infirmary, where he later died. A photograph of Sánchez Mejías watching over the corpse that night became famous in its own right.

Retirement

Sánchez Mejías retired from bullfighting in 1927. In the 1928-1929 academic year, he enrolled at the "La Rábida" Secondary Education Institute in

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, at the age of thirty-eight, to finish his Bachelor's degree studies. On May 25, 1928, he was elected the 12th president of Real Betis Balompié, remaining in office until September 2, 1929. He also became a patron of the future

, some of whose members were true fans of bullfighting and bullfighting experts.

Return to bullfighting

In 1934 Sánchez Mejías returned to bullfighting. In August of that year he replaced

Domingo Ortega Domingo Ortega (February 25, 1906 – May 8, 1988) was a Spanish matador. Conrad 1961, p.173 Born Domingo López Ortega in Borox, Toledo, he was the son of a farmer, and grew up helping with farm work. During months when there was no work on the ...

in Manzanares, where he was gored in the right thigh. He would not allow the local doctor to operate on him, asking instead to be returned to Madrid. He was transported there by ambulance. Two days later, he contracted

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the gan ...

and died.

Legacy

A street in Feria de Abril, Sevilla, bears his name. He has been the subject of a number of documentaries. In 1926 the Valencian sculptor

Mariano Benlliure Mariano Benlliure y Gil (8 September 18629 November 1947) was a Spanish sculptor and medallist, who executed many public monuments and religious sculptures in Spain, working in a heroic realist style. Life and works He was born in the Lower St ...

included him in a memorial statue, where he is pictured among the figures carrying the coffin of Joselito The statue resides in a mausoleum in the Cementerio de San Fernando in

. Ignacio Sánchez Mejías is buried in the same cemetery.

References

Sources

* Andrés Amorós, ''Ignacio Sánchez Mejías''. Alianza Editorial, 1998.

External links

*
Chronology of his career"Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías"
by Federico García Lorca (English translation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez Mejias, Ignacio Spanish bullfighters 1891 births 1934 deaths People from Seville Bullfighters killed in the arena Sport deaths in Spain Real Betis non-playing staff Spanish football chairmen and investors Deaths from gangrene