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Personal information | |
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Birth name | Rodolfo Gaona y Jiménez |
Nicknames |
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Born | León, Guanajuato, Mexico | January 22, 1888
Died | May 20, 1975 Mexico City, Mexico | (aged 87)
Spouse(s) |
Carmen Ruiz Moragas (1917-1917) Enriqueta Gómez Abascal (married 1925) |
Sport | |
Sport | Bullfighting |
Rank | Matador |
Bullfighting career | |
Début novillero | 1 April 1908 Puerta de Hierro, Madrid |
Rodolfo Gaona y Jiménez (22 January 1888 – 20 May 1975), was a Mexican bullfighter who performed from 1905 until his retirement in 1925, primarily in Madrid. [1] [2] [3] Known as El Indio Grande (The Big Indian) and La Califa de León (The Caliph of León), Gaona was part of the Golden Age of bullfighting in Spain [3] alongside Juan Belmonte and Joselito. [4] He invented the gaonera and pase del centenario moves. [2] [5]
Gaona was born in León, Guanajuato City, Mexico on 22 January 1888 [1] to a Navarrese father and an Indigenous Mexican mother. [6] [2] [7] As a young man, Gaona was a tanner and practiced bullfighting with a group of friends at nearby ranches. [8] He joined Saturnino "Ojitos" Frutos' bullfighting group in 1904. [7] [1] [9] [3] His first professional bullfighting appearance was at the Toreo de la Condesa on 1 October 1905 [8] in Mexico City. [7]
In early 1908, he traveled to Spain with Ojitos, who arranged for him to debut at the Puerta de Hierro in Madrid on 1 April, followed by appearances at the main plaza in Tetuán de las Victorias and the Palacio Vistalegre. [3] [1] [9] [7] In 1910, he first performed a move that would later be dubbed the gaonera, which included holding the muleta behind himself and letting the bull pass through it. [8] [10] [11] At a celebration for the 100th anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain in 1921, Gaona invented the pase del centenario, or centennial pass, a variation of the gaonera. [5] [2]
Gaona's divorce from actress Carmen Ruiz Moragas, the mistress of King Alfonso XIII, attracted public ridicule, including allegations of being a cuckold or homosexual. This had a severe effect on his concentration in the ring, particularly when detractors threw things at him. He returned to Mexico in 1920 when bullfighting was again legalized. [2] [12] [11] [6] Gaona retired on 12 April 1925 after a final performance at the Toreo de la Condesa, the same arena where he had made his maiden performance. [8] [2]
While in Spain, Gaona briefly dated Paquita Escribano. [2] [1] His 1917 marriage and subsequent divorce from Carmen Ruiz Moragas provoked increased discussion about divorce in Spain and inspired the film La malcasada. [12] [2] In 1925, he married Enriqueta Gómez Abascal, a Spanish woman with whom he had three children. [13] [1] Gaona died on 20 May 1975 in Mexico City. [6]
A street in Granada in the old bullfighters' neighborhood is named in his honor. [6]