José Miguel Arroyo Delgado (born May 1, 1969) is 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 is better known in bullfighting circles as Joselito, a nickname he shares with at least two other notables: José Gomez, the Joselito bullfighter of the 1910s, and Joselito, a teen idol singer from the 1960s.

Biography

Arroyo Delgado was born 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 ...

. He grew up in a poor family, dreaming about fame and wealth as a bullfighter. He became a professional bullfighter in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

at the early age of sixteen. He went on to triumph in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

as well as in his native country. In Mexico, he was awarded a bull's tail, the top award given to a "torero" there. Arroyo Delgado himself admits to being one of the most battered bullfighters of his generation. In 1989 he sustained his worst injury, when he was hit by 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 ...

and required

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

ization. In 1996 he came close to another serious injury, when he faced a bull in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

: he was not fighting well that day and he was close to losing to a bull. He won the encounter, but thought seriously about retiring. Arroyo Delgado has been a controversial bullfighter in Spain: he is known for his dislike of uniforms, whether

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

or ''torero'', although he does use his ''torero'' uniform. He was also both widely criticized and praised by the Spanish public for refusing to dedicate a bull to King Juan Carlos de Bourbon, dedicating it instead to his friend, " El Bote", a fellow bullfighter who had just been hospitalized after an encounter with a bull. Arroyo Delgado is equally controversial in Spain for his

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

views: although he claims to be a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, he has also declared that, had he been born in another country, his

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

would have been either

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. Arroyo Delgado never prays before his fights, although this is a tradition for bullfighters in Spain, a country that has an overwhelming Catholic majority. Arroyo Delgado is the owner of a cattle ranch. He is the adoptive son of Enrique Martin Arranz and his wife Adela. Arroyo Delgado's natural father died in 1981.

References

External links

El País articles on Joselito
1969 births Living people Sportspeople from Madrid Spanish bullfighters Spanish Roman Catholics {{spain-bullfighting-bio-stub