Víctor Barrio Hernanz (; 29 May 1987 – 9 July 2016), known as Víctor Barrio, was a Spanish bullfighter who died at the age of 29 when he was gored in the chest by a bull named Lorenzo at the

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...

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 ...

Early life

Barrio's parents, who both survived him, were Joaquín Barrio and Esther Hernanz. According to Barrio's first ''apoderado'', José Galán ("Josele"), Barrio had no formal training in tauromachy. He learnt at local farms about the profession, and indeed, never stood before a bull until he was twenty years old. On the other hand, at least one source says that Barrio was an alumnus of the ''Escuela de Tauromaquia de "El Espinar"'' in Segovia.

Bullfighting career

Barrio's first performance in public as a ''novillero'' (novice bullfighter who fights yearling bulls) without ''picadores'' was on 13 July 2008 at Las Ventas de Retamosa in the

province of Toledo Toledo () is a Province (Spain), province of central Spain, in the western part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid Province, Madrid, Cuenca Province (Spai ...

. He then had his début with ''picadores'' on 29 August of the next year at the Sepúlveda bullring in the province of Segovia. He got great recognition as a ''novillero'', winning the prizes for the best ''novillero'' at the ''Feria de San Isidro'' (" Saint Isidore's Fair) in 2011, awarded at

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

and Santander, and also the Golden Potter ( Villaseca de la Sagra), the Silver Frascuelo ( Moralzarzal), and the Golden Spike (

Calasparra Calasparra () is a municipality in the autonomous community of Murcia, Spain. It shares borders with Cieza, Mula, Cehegín, Moratalla and province of Albacete. History There were people living in Calasparra during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Th ...

). Barrio took his ''alternativa'' at

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 ...

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 on 8 April 2012, which was

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

Sunday. Standing as "godfather" for the occasion was José Pedro Prados Martín "El Fundi", while Juan del Álamo bore witness. The bulls were supplied by the José Luis Pereda ranch. A minute of silence was observed for the fiftieth anniversary of bullfighter

Juan Belmonte Juan Belmonte García (14 April 1892 – 8 April 1962) was a Spanish bullfighter. He fought in a record number of bull fights and was responsible for changing the art of bullfighting. He had minor deformities in his legs which forced him to de ...

's death. In 2015, the ''Mesonero Mayor de Castilla'' and Golden Chimney of Valdemorillo trophies were awarded him. There would seem to be no reliable record of Barrio ever having had his ''alternativa'' confirmed.

Death

On 9 July 2016, during the ''Vaquilla del Ángel'' (literally "Angel's Heifer" — the angel is the city's patron, the Holy Guardian Angel) celebrations in

, Barrio was on the bill together with Curro Vázquez and Morenito de Aranda. Barrio was 29 years old by this time. He was allotted the afternoon's third bull, a beast from the Los Maños ranch weighing 529 kg, named Lorenzo, who would be the last bull that Barrio ever faced. Lorenzo delivered a deadly goring to Barrio, thrusting a horn deep into the bullfighter's chest. Barrio died within minutes. Lorenzo's horn had passed through the bullfighter's

axilla The axilla (: axillae or axillas; also known as the armpit, underarm or oxter) is the area on the human body directly under the shoulder joint. It includes the axillary space, an anatomical space within the shoulder girdle between the arm a ...

, penetrating his right lung and rupturing his

thoracic aorta The thoracic aorta is a part of the aorta located in the thorax. It is a continuation of the aortic arch. It is located within the posterior mediastinal cavity, but frequently bulges into the left pleural cavity. The descending thoracic aorta be ...

, leading to massive

blood loss Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, v ...

and a quick death. It was the first time in more than thirty years that a bullfighter had died during a ''corrida'' in Spain (excluding the banderilleros Manolo Montoliú and Ramón Soto Vargas, who died in 1992), the last before Barrio having been José Cubero Sánchez "el Yiyo" on 30 August 1985 at Colmenar Viejo,

. The whole incident was broadcast live on

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. Barrio's body was brought to his hometown, and a chapel of rest (place where respects can be paid to one who has died) was set up at the local sports centre. Barrio's

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 ...

in Sepúlveda,

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...

drew a great crowd, which included the authorities, bullfighters and ''aficionados''. After Barrio's death, many

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and anti-bullfighting advocates published messages that could have constituted crimes, leading the ''Fundación del Toro de Lidia'' (" Fighting Bull Foundation") and Víctor Barrio's family to take legal action against messages that they considered insulting and slanderous. A case in point was the complaint that Barrio's family brought against a teacher named Vicent Belenguer who had allegedly posted on his

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account that he wished the same fate (that is, death) on all Barrio's kin. On 4 September 2016, a ''corrida'' was celebrated in homage to Barrio at the

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

bullring. Bulls were supplied by the Juan Pedro Domecq, Núñez del Cuvillo, Zalduendo, Domingo Hernández, and Victoriano del Río ranches, and were slain by Juan José Padilla, José Tomás, Morante de la Puebla, Julián López Escobar ("El Juli"), Manzanares hijo, and Alejandro Talavante. In 2017, a plaque was unveiled at the Valdemorillo bullring, out through whose main gate Barrio had been borne, shoulder-high, as both a ''novillero'' and a matador. Also unveiled at the Teruel bullring was a tile in the bullfighter's honour decorated with a guardian angel's wings. In 2021, a ceramic mosaic homage to Barrio was unveiled at Las Ventas, right at the Great Gate. The artist was Luis Gordillo.

Foundation

Also worth mentioning is the ''Fundación Víctor Barrio para la divulgación de la tauromaquia'' ("Víctor Barrio Foundation for the dissemination of tauromachy"), whose theme is a quote from Barrio himself:

Lorenzo

Lorenzo died of injuries sustained during the fight, and there was widespread speculation that Lorenzo's mother, Lorenza, would be killed as part of the practice of "killing off the bloodline" whereby the families of "murderer bulls" would be killed. This was rendered moot as it was later confirmed by Lorenza's ranchers that she had been put to death days before the event because of her old age.

References