Carlos Arruza (February 17, 1920 – May 20, 1966), born Carlos Ruiz Camino, was one of the most prominent bullfighters of the 20th century. He was known as "El Ciclón" ("the cyclone"). Arruza was born 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 ...

to Spanish parents. He began fighting bulls at age 14 in Mexico City, and moved to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 1944. He and Manolete were Spain's top matadors of the 1940s. Arruza retired to a ranch outside Mexico City in 1953, but made a comeback as a rejoneador, fighting bulls from horseback. He appeared in two Mexican films about bullfighting, and had a part in the 1960

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

film '' The Alamo''. He was the subject of the 1971 documentary '' Arruza'', directed by

Budd Boetticher Oscar Boetticher Jr. ( ; July 29, 1916 – November 29, 2001), known as Budd Boetticher, was an American film director. He is best remembered for a series of low-budget Westerns he made in the late 1950s starring Randolph Scott. Early life Boet ...

. Arruza's sons, Manolo and Carlos Jr., also became prominent

torero 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 activi ...

s. Carlos Arruza died on May 20, 1966, in an automobile accident while on the road from

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

, to Mexico City. Calle Carlos Arruza, a small street in downtown Tucson, Arizona, is named after Arruza. According to ''Arizona Daily Star'' historical writer David Leighton, it may be the only street in the U.S. named after a bullfighter. The composition "Carlos", by jazz composer and bandleader

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

, is dedicated to Arruza. The piece features virtuoso trumpet playing and has been recorded three times by Wilson's band: in 1966 with Jimmy Owens on trumpet, 1989 with

Oscar Brashear Oscar Brashear (August 18, 1944 – July 7, 2023) was an American jazz trumpeter and session musician from Chicago, Illinois. After studying at DuSable High School and Wright Jr. College (currently known as Wilbur Wright College) under John DeR ...

, and 1995 with Ron Barrows.

Filmography

References

Other sources

Encyclopædia Britannica entry

* * ttp://toropedia.com/index.php?title=Carlos_Arruza Carlos Arruzaat ToroPedia.com, the English language online encyclopedia of bullfighting.

1920 births 1966 deaths Mexican male film actors Mexican bullfighters Road incident deaths in Mexico Mexican people of Spanish descent Male actors from Mexico City Sportspeople from Mexico City 20th-century Mexican male actors Mexican expatriates in Spain {{mexico-bullfighting-bio-stub