José Cubero Sánchez (; 16 April 1964 – 30 August 1985), known as el Yiyo, was a Spanish

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 activ ...

. He died at the age of 21 during a

bullfight 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 ...

at the

bullring A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are ...

Colmenar Viejo Colmenar Viejo () is a town and municipality of about 48,614 inhabitants, located in the Community of Madrid, Spain, 30 kilometers north of Madrid on the M-607 motorway. It belongs to the comarca of Cuenca Alta del Manzanares. Main sights In t ...

when a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

named Burlero gored him in the heart.

Life

Born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, France, to a Spanish emigrant family, Cubero was brought up in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Canillejas Canillejas is an administrative neighborhood (''barrio'') of Madrid, belonging to the San Blas-Canillejas district. It is named after the former namesake municipality, absorbed by Madrid in 1949. It has an area of . As of 1 March 2020, it has a ...

neighbourhood. He was a prominent alumnus of the ''Escuela Nacional de Tauromaquia'' ("National

Bullfighting 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 ...

School") at the Venta del Batán, a complex in the

Casa de Campo The Casa de Campo (, for Spanish: ''Country House'') is the largest public park in Madrid. It is situated west of central Madrid, Spain. It gets its name 'Country House' because it was once a royal hunting estate, located just west of the R ...

, Madrid's biggest public park. In 2016, it was given the name ''Escuela Taurina de la Comunidad de Madrid el Yiyo'' (ETCM Yiyo) in Cubero's honour. In February 1980, he made his début with

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 bull ...

es in

San Sebastián de los Reyes San Sebastián de los Reyes (, colloquially called "Sanse") is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1492, it is located north of Madrid. Geography It forms an urban continuum with the neighboring Alcobendas, Transpor ...

, where he shared billing with Carlos Aragón and Antonio Amores. This same year, he led the ranking among novice bullfighters (''novilleros'') and thereby won the famous ''Zapato de Oro'' ("Golden Shoe") of

Arnedo Arnedo is the third largest town in La Rioja, Spain. It is located near Calahorra, and has a population of about 15,000 people. Its economy is based on the shoe industry. History The area of Arnedo has been inhabited as early as the Neolithic A ...

. Cubero received the alternativa as a bullfighter on 30 June 1981 at the ''Plaza de Toros de

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

'', a bullring in Spain's north. Standing as "godfather" was

Ángel Teruel Ángel Teruel Peñalver (; 20 February 1950 – 17 December 2021), professionally known as Ángel Teruel, was a Spanish bullfighter, the star of the ''escalafón taurino'' (bullfighters' rankings) in the 1960s and early 1970s. Early years Bor ...

, while José María Manzanares stood as witness; the fight was with the bull Comadrejo, raised by J. Buendía. Cubero's confirmation came on 27 May 1982, at the ''Feria de San Isidro'' (" Saint Isidore's Fair" — a yearly event at the

Las Ventas The Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, known simply as Las Ventas , is the largest bullfighting ring in Spain, located in the Guindalera quarter of the Salamanca district of Madrid. It was inaugurated on June 17, 1931. Its seating capacity of 23,798, ...

bullring in Madrid). Standing as "godfather" this time was José María Manzanares, while Emilio Muñoz stood as witness; the fight was with the bull Bohemio, raised by Félix Cameno. Cubero twice came out of the Great Gate at Las Ventas, on 1 and 9 June 1983, although he had also appeared at Spain's foremost bullring as a ''novillero'' in 1981. On 26 September 1984, el Yiyo shared the billing in

Pozoblanco Pozoblanco () is a town in the Córdoba Province, Spain, province of Córdoba, southern Spain, in the north-central part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located near the headwaters of the Guadamatil ...

with Francisco Rivera, known as "

Paquirri Francisco Rivera Pérez (; 5 March 1948 – 26 September 1984), better known as Paquirri (), was a Spanish bullfighter. He died after being gored by a Spanish Fighting Bull, bull named Avispado at the Pozoblanco bullring. During his career, he ...

", on the day when the latter was fatally wounded by a bull named Avispado, which he had assumed to be dead. In

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

, this billing is held to be cursed (Cubero would himself be killed in the bullring less than a year later, in a very similar way).

Death

Having become a bullfighting benchmark and giving many fans hope for his prospects, and thus enjoying great popularity, on 30 August 1985, Cubero substituted for

Curro Romero Francisco Romero López (; born 1 December 1933), better known as Curro Romero (), and nicknamed ''El Faraón de Camas'' ("The Pharaoh of Camas"), is a Spanish bullfighter. He began his professional career in his hometown's La Pañoleta neighbo ...

at the

bullring to perform alongside Antonio Chenel ("

Antoñete Antonio Chenel Albadalejo (; 24 June 1932 – 22 October 2011), professionally and popularly known as Antoñete (), was a Spanish bullfighter. His family had no background in bullfighting beyond Antoñete's father having been a ''monosabio'' (a ...

") and José Luis Palomar, with bulls supplied by Marcos Núñez. That afternoon's sixth bull, named Burlero, gave Cubero a fight that ended with an ''estocada'' (the sword thrust meant to kill the bull) from which the bullfighter bounced away. He rolled over the ground and his ''subalternos'' came out to help, but the bull made straight for Cubero and wounded him, taking the young bullfighter by the armpit. The bull's horn gored Cubero right in the heart, splitting it in two; Cubero was killed almost instantly, but still managed to say to his friend in a weak voice "Pali, este toro me ha matado" ("Pali, this bull has killed me"), before dying. He was twenty-one years old. His

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

was held at Las Ventas in Madrid; on hand were authorities, fellow bullfighters and fans, and he was borne shoulder-high among the crowd to the ''

Cementerio de la Almudena The ''Cementerio de Nuestra Señora de La Almudena'' (), former ''Necrópolis del Este'' (East cemetery) is a cemetery in Madrid, Spain. It is the largest in Western Europe. The number of bodies buried is estimated at five million since it was th ...

'', where he was buried. By way of homage, there is a sculpture of Cubero outside the Colmenar Viejo bullring, and another sculpture in his memory outside Las Ventas,

Luis Sanguino Luis Antonio Sanguino de Pascual (; born 1934) is a Spaniards, Spanish Sculpture, sculptor who is known for many monumental works, mostly in bronze, both in Spain and in the Americas. After living abroad more than once, including sojourns in ot ...

's work. In 1985, the well-known journalist and writer Antonio D. Olano wrote the book ''Yiyo. Adiós, príncipe, adiós'' in Cubero's memory.

References

All references are in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

External links

Article about Cubero on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of his death
*

Interview with Vicente Ruiz Soro (fellow bullfighter) about Cubero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cubero Sanchez, Jose 1964 births 1985 deaths People from Bordeaux Spanish bullfighters Sportspeople from Madrid Bullfighters killed in the arena Sport deaths in Spain Filmed deaths in sports Burials at Cementerio de la Almudena

Life

Death

See also

References

External links