"The Death of Manolete"
Dominguin (holding the cape) watches as Manolete is rushed from the ring.
LINARES July 4th 1947
"The Bulls of Death"
The Miura Bulls (Don Eduardo Miura)
So called because they had been responsible for the deaths of many of Spain's great Matadors . Manolete's second bull and the 1,004th of his career was small and black its name Islero. It had one small defect. It had very bad eyesight and tended to chop with its right horn.
His manager begged with him to finish this bull off quickly
In the final act Manolete slowly, deliberately pushed the sword deep up to its hilt, Islero jerked his right horn up into the matador's groin cutting his femoral artery.
As the Banderillos carried the dying hero to the infirmary, the stunned crowd rose to applaud.
Manolete with his Mother
Spain had refused to let him retire; he had given them what they wanted. As the crowd gathered around his bed, he told his doctor he could no longer feel his legs, his sight left him. A few moments later Manolete grabbed the sheets of his bed tightly in his fingers and cried out 'Ay madre;("Oh Mother") He stiffened, then it was over.
"Long live the King".
Manolete with Dominguin
A young star, fighting along side Manolete that day now claimed the vacant throne and proclaimed himself "Numero uno. Domingui'n