Spain’s most celebrated matador, Morante de la Puebla, had already cut an ear from his first bull and was dazzling a sold-out crowd at Seville’s La Maestranza when the fourth bull of the afternoon changed everything. A sudden charge, a horn driven 10 centimetres into his body, a perforated rectum, two hours of emergency surgery, and a night in the ICU.
He had only just come back. Last October, after three decades in the ring and a triumphant final performance in Madrid, he cut off his ponytail and walked away — worn down by decades of severe depression and electroconvulsive therapy. His comeback this spring had felt like a gift, drawing some of the youngest crowds bullfighting had seen in years.
From his hospital bed, he told reporters: “It was the most painful goring I have ever suffered. I thought I was bleeding a lot.”
Doctors say they need at least 10 days before they can give a proper prognosis. The infection risk alone, given the location of the wound, remains a serious concern.
The bull’s name was Clandestino.