Julio Aparicio Díaz
Encyclopedia
Julio Aparicio Díaz also known as Julito Aparicio, is a Spanish
bullfighter
from Seville
. Aparicio made his public début in bullfighting at the age of fourteen in 1984. He was confirmed as a torero, or matador, in 1994. Aparicio is most famous for an incident in 2010 when he was gored by a bull and the horn lodged into his neck.
, Spain, and is the son of Julio Aparicio Martínez, who was a famous torero in the 1950s
and 60s
and the grandson of Julián Aparicio, who was also involved in bullfighting. Aparicio's mother is Malena Loreto, a famous flamenco
dancer and his sister Kika Aparicio is an actress. Aparicio made his first public appearance in relation to bullfighting on September 2, 1984 at the Arenas de San Pedro
. In 1986, Aparicio, while thinking about studying law, decided to leave everything for a career in bullfighting at the age of sixteen.
, Spain alongside Fernando Lozano and Gregorio de Jesús as a picador
. Later that year, he went to the European Parliament
in Strasbourg
to defend the Spanish tradition of bullfighting. Aparicio received his alternativa (alternative), a ceremony which a novillero starts fighting mature bulls for the first time as a torero, on April 15, 1990 at the Royal Cavalry of Seville. After that, he made his Franch début in Nîmes
on May 16, 1991 at the Arena of Nîmes
.
Aparicio had his confirmación, a confirmation of his alternativa, four years later on May 18, 1994 at Las Ventas
in Madrid. He also received a confirmación in Mexico
on November 13, 1994. Aparicio was greatly praised from fans for his performance at his confirmación in May. On the fifth bull of the afternoon, Aparicio fought a bull of the Alcurrucén breed named Cañego. This performance is regarded as his best, and the one that established him as a top bullfighter.
From 1994 to 1998 he was advertised to participate in a majority of the bullfighting festivals held in Spain and France. At the 1998 San Isidro Festival, he served as the Godfather to Morante de la Puebla for Puebla's confirmación ceremony. On June 4, 1998, he announced his withdraw from events, and was inactive until 2000. He had his reaparición, or comeback, on March 15, 2000 in an event with José María Manzanares and Juan Bautista in Fitero
.
In the following years since his return to the major fairs where he gained his notability, he has had several mishaps which has resulted in not being reviewed as favorable compared to years past. On March 23, 2008, at Las Ventas, he was gored by a bull which caused a severe laceration in his left thigh. Also, prior to his accident on May 21, he only had four performances for the 2010 season. He was considered favorable for two of the eight bulls he fought, and he was booed in his last performance at Nîmes, France before the accident. He has drawn criticism of not being "glamorous", not being close enough to the bulls to be considered dangerous, and not making the bull "dance" in his later years.
On May 21, 2010, Aparicio was severely injured during a performance when a bull gored him. Aparicio was participating in the San Isidro Festival in Las Ventas, performing with a 1,168 lb
(530 kg
) bull named Opiparo when he lost his footing and was gored through the neck and out of his mouth by the bull's right horn. The incident happened as Aparicio was attempting the faena, a series of passes in which a torero uses their cape and sword before delivering the estocada, or death blow. The bull immediately withdrew its horn from Aparicio's neck and he attempted to leave the bullring
, but lost consciousness and had to be carried out. The result of the injury was a punctured tongue
, a fractured hard palate
, a fractured upper maxilla
and several broken teeth. Doctors at Las Ventas operated on Aparicio for an hour and performed an emergency tracheotomy
to stabilize him. He was transferred to the Hospital 12 de Octubre (October 12 Hospital) in Madrid
where he underwent six hours of surgery to repair his fractured jaw. He left the intensive care unit
on May 24 after recovering from surgery. He went back to the hospital in critical condition on May 28 due to acute respiratory failure
that required ventilation
through a breathing tube
due to swelling from an infection. He left the hospital on June 6 after recovering once again.
After the accident, Aparicio fired his manager Simon Casas who had said in an interview that Aparicio would not be able to psychologically recover so quickly. Aparicio made a return to bullfighting in Pontevedra
on August 1, ten weeks after the accident. He later revealed that on the day of the accident, he had competed with a broken middle finger on his left hand.
and François Zumbiehl)
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
bullfighter
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
from Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
. Aparicio made his public début in bullfighting at the age of fourteen in 1984. He was confirmed as a torero, or matador, in 1994. Aparicio is most famous for an incident in 2010 when he was gored by a bull and the horn lodged into his neck.
Early life
Aparicio was born on January 4, 1969 in SevilleSeville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Spain, and is the son of Julio Aparicio Martínez, who was a famous torero in the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
and 60s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
and the grandson of Julián Aparicio, who was also involved in bullfighting. Aparicio's mother is Malena Loreto, a famous flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
dancer and his sister Kika Aparicio is an actress. Aparicio made his first public appearance in relation to bullfighting on September 2, 1984 at the Arenas de San Pedro
Arenas de San Pedro
Arenas de San Pedro is a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 6,682 inhabitants. Its seal depicts a large castle located in the town. The seal says "Siempre incendiada", meaning "always on fire"...
. In 1986, Aparicio, while thinking about studying law, decided to leave everything for a career in bullfighting at the age of sixteen.
Career
Aparicio débuted as a novillero, a fighter of young bulls, on February 8, 1987 in GandiaGandia
Gandia is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar, 65 km south of Valencia and 96 km north of Alicante....
, Spain alongside Fernando Lozano and Gregorio de Jesús as a picador
Picador
A picador is one of the pair of horsemen in a Spanish bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the tercio de varas which is the first of the three stages in a Spanish bullfight.The picador has three main functions:...
. Later that year, he went to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
to defend the Spanish tradition of bullfighting. Aparicio received his alternativa (alternative), a ceremony which a novillero starts fighting mature bulls for the first time as a torero, on April 15, 1990 at the Royal Cavalry of Seville. After that, he made his Franch début in Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
on May 16, 1991 at the Arena of Nîmes
Arena of Nimes
The Arena of Nîmes is a Roman amphitheater found in the French city of Nîmes. Built around 70 AD, it was remodeled in 1863 to serve as a bullring. The Arenas of Nimes is the site of two annual bullfights, and it is also used for other public events....
.
Aparicio had his confirmación, a confirmation of his alternativa, four years later on May 18, 1994 at Las Ventas
Las Ventas
The Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is a famous bullring in Madrid .Situated in the Guindalera quarter of the district of Salamanca, it was inaugurated on June 17, 1931. It has a seating capacity of 25,000 and is regarded as the home of bullfighting in Spain.This bullring was designed by the architect...
in Madrid. He also received a confirmación in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
on November 13, 1994. Aparicio was greatly praised from fans for his performance at his confirmación in May. On the fifth bull of the afternoon, Aparicio fought a bull of the Alcurrucén breed named Cañego. This performance is regarded as his best, and the one that established him as a top bullfighter.
From 1994 to 1998 he was advertised to participate in a majority of the bullfighting festivals held in Spain and France. At the 1998 San Isidro Festival, he served as the Godfather to Morante de la Puebla for Puebla's confirmación ceremony. On June 4, 1998, he announced his withdraw from events, and was inactive until 2000. He had his reaparición, or comeback, on March 15, 2000 in an event with José María Manzanares and Juan Bautista in Fitero
Fitero
Fitero is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.The Monastery of Fitero is situated here.-External links:*...
.
In the following years since his return to the major fairs where he gained his notability, he has had several mishaps which has resulted in not being reviewed as favorable compared to years past. On March 23, 2008, at Las Ventas, he was gored by a bull which caused a severe laceration in his left thigh. Also, prior to his accident on May 21, he only had four performances for the 2010 season. He was considered favorable for two of the eight bulls he fought, and he was booed in his last performance at Nîmes, France before the accident. He has drawn criticism of not being "glamorous", not being close enough to the bulls to be considered dangerous, and not making the bull "dance" in his later years.
On May 21, 2010, Aparicio was severely injured during a performance when a bull gored him. Aparicio was participating in the San Isidro Festival in Las Ventas, performing with a 1,168 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(530 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
) bull named Opiparo when he lost his footing and was gored through the neck and out of his mouth by the bull's right horn. The incident happened as Aparicio was attempting the faena, a series of passes in which a torero uses their cape and sword before delivering the estocada, or death blow. The bull immediately withdrew its horn from Aparicio's neck and he attempted to leave the bullring
Bullring
A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with Spain, but they can also be found in neighboring countries and the New World...
, but lost consciousness and had to be carried out. The result of the injury was a punctured tongue
Tongue
The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...
, a fractured hard palate
Hard palate
The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate of the skull, located in the roof of the mouth. It spans the arch formed by the upper teeth.It is formed by the palatine process of the maxilla and horizontal plate of palatine bone....
, a fractured upper maxilla
Maxilla
The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible , which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis. Sometimes The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper...
and several broken teeth. Doctors at Las Ventas operated on Aparicio for an hour and performed an emergency tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
to stabilize him. He was transferred to the Hospital 12 de Octubre (October 12 Hospital) in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
where he underwent six hours of surgery to repair his fractured jaw. He left the intensive care unit
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
on May 24 after recovering from surgery. He went back to the hospital in critical condition on May 28 due to acute respiratory failure
Respiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
that required ventilation
Ventilation (physiology)
In respiratory physiology, ventilation is the rate at which gas enters or leaves the lung. It is categorized under the following definitions:-Sample values:...
through a breathing tube
Tracheal tube
A tracheal tube is a catheter that is inserted into the trachea in order for the primary purpose of establishing and maintaining a patent airway and to ensure the adequate exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Many different types of tracheal tubes are available, suited for different specific...
due to swelling from an infection. He left the hospital on June 6 after recovering once again.
After the accident, Aparicio fired his manager Simon Casas who had said in an interview that Aparicio would not be able to psychologically recover so quickly. Aparicio made a return to bullfighting in Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
on August 1, ten weeks after the accident. He later revealed that on the day of the accident, he had competed with a broken middle finger on his left hand.
Career highlights
| Event: | Location: | Date: | Bulls or steers: | Notes: | Refs: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Début novillero | Gandia Gandia Gandia is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar, 65 km south of Valencia and 96 km north of Alicante.... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
Feb. 8, 1987 | El Torreón |
|
|
| Presentación | Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level... , Spain |
July 16, 1989 | Torrestrella (mixed with Curro) |
|
|
| Alternativa | Seville, Spain | Apr. 15, 1990 | Torrestrella |
Curro Romero Francisco Romero López Spanish bullfighter, known as Curro Romero. Born in Camas, near Seville.He started his professional career in La Pañoleta , on August 22, 1954 together with Limeño.... |
|
| Début in France | Nîmes Nîmes Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
May 16, 1991 | Sánchez Delp |
Emilio Muñoz Emilio Muñoz is a Spanish film and video actor; and bullfighter.-Acting:Muñoz has appeared in two Madonna music videos, Take a Bow and its sequel, You'll See .... |
|
| Confirmación | Seville, Spain | May 18, 1994 | Manolo Gonzalez |
José Ortega Cano José Ortega Cano is a Spanish bullfighter. He was married to Spanish singer Rocío Jurado. They adopted two Colombian children, one boy one girl.... |
|
| Confirmación | Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... |
Nov. 13, 1994 | Xajay |
|
|
| Reaparición | Fitero Fitero Fitero is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.The Monastery of Fitero is situated here.-External links:*... , Spain |
Mar. 15, 2000 | Carmen Segovia |
|
|
Further reading
(article by Robert Bérard and Jean-Marie Magnan) (preface Jean LacoutureJean Lacouture
Jean Lacouture is a journalist, historian and author. He is particularly famous for his biographies. - Biography :...
and François Zumbiehl)
See also
- BullfightingBullfightingBullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
- List of bullfighters
- Torero
External links
- Julio Aparicio (in Spanish) at Portal Taurino
- Julio Aparicio (in Spanish) at Arte Toreo
- Julio Aparicio (in Spanish) at Mundotoro