Domingo Ortega (February 25, 1906 – May 8, 1988) was a

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 ...

matador 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 ...

. Conrad 1961, p.173 Born Domingo López Ortega in Borox, Toledo, he was the son of a farmer, and grew up helping with farm work. During months when there was no work on the farm, he would travel to other towns selling

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

.Biography in Spanish.
Accessed 2010-12-15.

Career

In the summer of 1928, he went to a ''novillada'', 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 ...

of young bulls. During the fight, a bull injured the sole bullfighter present. Sensing an opportunity, Ortega jumped into the ring, asked for the bullfighter's tools, gave several passes, and killed the bull. The incident proved to be the start of a new career for him. In 1931, he had only performed in six ''novilladas'' when he received the ''alternativa'' — graduation from ''novillero'' to full ''matador de toros'' — from Gitanillo de Triana in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. The same year, his ''alternativa'' was confirmed by Nicanor Villalta 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 subsequently performed in many bullfights before retiring in 1950. He briefly came out of retirement for a period in 1953.El País, article 1985-12-23
Accessed 2010-12-15. He is quoted as saying that the three canonical maxims of bullfighting, ''parar, templar y mandar'' ("to stop, to moderate, to command"), should be supplemented with a fourth: "to load," meaning the bullfighter should put his weight on his forward foot to put him closer to the bull. He said that a bullfighter being caught by the bull was always due to a mistake on the part of the bullfighter: "In bullfighting either the bullfighter or the bull is in command."

Legacy

While most modern sources praise Ortega highly,

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

expressed a low opinion of him in ''

Death in the Afternoon ''Death in the Afternoon'' is a non-fiction book written by Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understat ...

'', describing him as "skillfully built up... with an elaborate press campaign and ballyhoo," and stating, "He was lousy". However

Laura Riding Laura Riding Jackson (born Laura Reichenthal; January 16, 1901 – September 2, 1991), best known as Laura Riding, was an American poet, critic, novelist, essayist and short story writer. Early life and education She was born in New York Ci ...

refuted Hemingway's view strongly in her essay 'The Bull-Fight', calling Ortega "the critical modernist among contemporary bull-fighters" and saying "There are few books that have given me such a sense of learned simplicity as Ortega's work".Laura Riding, "The BullFight", Epilogue II (1936).

References

Bibliography

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External links

Biography in Spanish

''El País'' article, December 12, 1985
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega, Domingo 1906 births 1988 deaths People from the Province of Toledo Spanish bullfighters