Patricia McCormick (November 18, 1929 – March 26, 2013) was an American

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 activity ...

. She is thought to be the first woman in North America to fight bulls professionally.

Conchita Cintrón Concepción Cintrón Verrill, also known as Conchita Cintrón or La Diosa de Oro ('The Golden Goddess') (August 9, 1922 in Antofagasta – February 17, 2009 in Lisbon), was a Chile-born Peruvian torera (female bullfighter), perhaps the most ...

first fought several years earlier in Lima, Peru as a ''

rejoneador Rejoneador (, pl. ''rejoneadores''; "lancer") is the name given to a bullfighter who fights the bull on horseback. The ''rejoneo'' is a form of bullfighting in Portugal and in Spanish bullfighting. Popular culture Mounted bullfighting is featu ...

'' (a bullfighter on horseback)

Biography

Originally from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, McCormick became enthralled with bullfighting after a trip to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

with her family at the age of seven. The McCormick family eventually moved to Big Spring, Texas, where her father became chief engineer at Cosden Petroleum. She studied art and music at

Texas Western College The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

and rediscovered bullfighting in the neighboring Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez. She quit college and debuted as a bullfighter on September 9, 1951 in Juárez. She joined the Matador's Union soon after and began bullfighting as a professional ''Matadora'' in January 1952, the first American to do so. Throughout her decade-long career, she fought in 300 corridas throughout Mexico and Venezuela. Six times bulls gored her, once so seriously in September 1954 in

Ciudad Acuña Ciudad Acuña, also known simply as Acuña, (originally Garza Galán, later Villa Acuña) is a city located in the Mexican state of Coahuila, at and a mean height above sea level of . It stands on the Rio Grande (locally known as the Río Br ...

that a priest administered

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...

. She never advanced from the apprentice rank of ''novillera'' as no male matador would sponsor her to do so. In 1962, she fought her last bull in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. McCormick authored her autobiography, ''Lady Bullfighter'', in 1954.

Later life

After retiring, she moved to California, and did line drawings and watercolor scenes of bullfighting, living in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

and

Pebble Beach Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

and working as a secretary at the

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred ...

in Pasadena. In the early 2000s she returned to West Texas, in Midland and then Del Rio. In the Spring of 2007, The Heritage Museum at Big Spring opened a permanent exhibit in her honor. McCormick died on March 26, 2013. She never married nor had children.

Notes

References

1929 births 2013 deaths American bullfighters Female bullfighters People from Big Spring, Texas Sportspeople from St. Louis Sportspeople from Texas People from Pebble Beach, California People from Pasadena, California People from Del Rio, Texas {{US-sport-bio-stub

Biography

Later life

See also

Notes

References