- Born:
- Aug. 9, 1922, Antofagasta, Chile
- Died:
- Feb. 17, 2009, Lisbon, Port. (aged 86)
Conchita Cintrón
-
Who was Conchita Cintrón?
Conchita Cintrón (1922–2009) was an American-Portuguese bullfighter celebrated as one of the best rejoneadores (a mounted bullfighter in the Portuguese style) and most-respected matadoras in bullfighting history.
Born in Chile to a Puerto Rican father and an American mother, she grew up in Peru. Cintrón debuted as a rejoneador at age 12, later training to fight on foot. Competing in Latin America, France, Portugal, and Spain, she gained fame as "La Diosa Rubia" ("The Blonde Goddess").
In her last bullfight in 1949, Cintrón defied a ban, dismounted, and mimed killing the bull, causing a sensation. Orson Welles described her career as ending "in a single burst of glorious criminality". After retiring at 27, she married a Portuguese nobleman and resided in Portugal.
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Where and when was Conchita Cintrón born?
Conchita Cintrón, an American-Portuguese bullfighter, was born on August 9, 1922, in Antofagasta, Chile. Her parents were a Puerto Rican father and an American mother. Cintrón grew up in Lima, Peru, and gained global recognition as a premier rejoneadora and a highly respected matadora.
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What made Conchita Cintrón unique among bullfighters?
Conchita Cintrón, an American-Portuguese bullfighter, was unique because she was one of the few female bullfighters to be taken seriously in a traditionally male-dominated sport. As a highly accomplished rider, she combined grace, skill, and daring, becoming known as "La Diosa Rubia" ("The Blonde Goddess"). Cintrón was also known for defying a Spanish law in her last bullfight in 1949, when she was forbidden from dismounting her horse and fighting the bull on foot. She jumped into the ring, grabbed a sword and cape, and simulated a kill, which led to her arrest and later pardon.
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How did she start her career in bullfighting?
Conchita Cintrón, born to a Puerto Rican father and an American mother, began her journey in bullfighting in Lima, Peru. At age 11, she started horseback-riding lessons and soon trained as a rejoneador, a Portuguese-style mounted bullfighter. By age 12, she debuted as a rejoneador, drawing considerable attention. She then traveled to Portugal, competing in arenas. After returning to Peru, Cintrón trained to fight on foot. At 15, she competed in her first bullfight in Mexico without a horse, leading to numerous performances in Latin America, France, Portugal, and Spain.
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What challenges did she face as a woman in bullfighting?
Conchita Cintrón, though not the first female bullfighter, was the first to be taken seriously. Prior to 1974 in Spain, female bullfighters weren't allowed to dismount and kill the bull on foot. This meant a sobresaliente would be called in to finish the bull, which was disappointing to Cintrón, who sought the same opportunities as her male counterparts. Some bullfighters and aficionados saw female bullfighters as novelties or trespassers in a male domain, believing they should remain "beautiful spectators." Some critics held toreras in special disdain. In 1999, Spanish matador Cristina Sánchez cited the hostile attitude of intolerant crowds and harassment by her male counterparts as reasons for quitting.
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How is Conchita Cintrón remembered in the world of bullfighting today?
Conchita Cintrón, an American-Portuguese bullfighter, is remembered as one of the world’s premier rejoneadores and most-respected matadoras in bullfighting history. Although most bullfighters have been men, women have participated in the spectacle for centuries. Cintrón, however, was the finest torera of modern times. She starred in Mexico and took Spain by storm in 1945. Though she would start on horseback in the Portuguese style, she would dismount, cape, and kill the bull on foot, often outdoing the men with whom she performed. Orson Welles said her career "ended in a single burst of glorious criminality".
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Conchita Cintrón (born Aug. 9, 1922, Antofagasta, Chile—died Feb. 17, 2009, Lisbon, Port.) was an American Portuguese bullfighter, who was one of the world’s premier rejoneadores and the most-respected matadora in bullfighting history.
The daughter of a Puerto Rican father and an American mother, Cintrón grew up in Lima, Peru. At age 11 she began taking horseback-riding lessons and soon started training as a rejoneador, a mounted bullfighter who performs in the Portuguese style of rejoneo. The following year she made her public debut as a rejoneador, and her performance attracted much attention. Soon after, she traveled to Portugal, where she fought in arenas throughout the country. After returning to Peru, Cintrón began training to fight on foot. She then went to Mexico and at age 15 competed in her first bullfight without a horse. Numerous bullfights followed, and she became much sought after, performing in Latin America, France, Portugal, and Spain. While Cintrón was by no means the first female bullfighter, she was the first to be taken seriously. A highly accomplished rider, she combined grace, skill, and daring. She became known as “La Diosa Rubia” (“The Blonde Goddess”). Although she took many chances in the arena, she was not seriously injured until March 6, 1949, in Guadalajara, Mex., when she was gored in the thigh and tossed. Though almost fatally wounded and carried to the infirmary, she broke away from the doctors, returned to the ring, and killed the bull. She then collapsed, unconscious, in the ring; emergency surgery saved her life.
In 1949 in Jaén, Spain, Cintrón appeared in her last bullfight. In the final moments of this performance, she rode over to the presidente’s box and asked permission to break the Spanish law forbidding a woman from dismounting her horse and fighting the bull on foot. Her request was denied. But instead of peacefully exiting the arena, Cintrón dismounted anyway and rushed the unsuspecting young male understudy assigned to kill her bull. She grabbed his sword and muleta (the small red cape used in the final act of a bullfight) and shocked the crowd by caping the bull and preparing it for the kill. She lined up the animal with the sword and then, in dramatic fashion, let the blade drop to the sand; the bull charged, whereupon Cintrón softly simulated the kill by touching the bull on the shoulders as it thundered by. The audience erupted into cheers, throwing hats and red carnations at her feet. Cintrón walked calmly away from the bull and was arrested at ringside. With the audience on the verge of rioting in protest of her arrest, Cintrón was pardoned and released. It was one of the most dramatic moments in bullfighting history. As Orson Welles, who wrote the introduction to Cintrón’s autobiography, Memoirs of a Bullfighter (1968; originally published in Spanish, 1962), concluded, the matadora’s career
ended in a single burst of glorious criminality. You can’t keep a lady waiting forever, and there came an afternoon when she decided that she’d waited long enough.
Following her retirement at age 27, Cintrón married a Portuguese nobleman and settled in Portugal. The biography Goddess of the Bullring (1960) was written by Cintrón’s mother, Lola Verrill Cintrón.