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Bullfighter José Tomás. A legendary bullfighter
The Myth of Galapagar, José Tomás is the bullfighter who is a legend in life, a master of filled bullrings, the Midas of posters ... inspiration of many people.
We dedicate this space for lovers of the art of bullfighting and the man who makes us admire him for his way of gambling life.
"I do not come close, the only thing I do is stay still, the one that comes close is the bull." José Tomás
José Tomás Román Martín was born on August 20, 1975 in Galapagar, Madrid. Son of Isabel and José Tomás, he is the eldest of four brothers. His grandfather Celestino Román was the responsible of his love for bullfighting, whom he had accompanied as a child to the bullring of Las Ventas (Madrid). He is also the nephew-grandson of the rancher Victorino Martín.
Discover the bullfighter who has become a legend.
He fought his first calf with 11 years and debuted in public on July 25, 1989, in the town of Colmenarejo in Madrid. His did his first ‘paseíllo’ in lights in Valdemorillo (Madrid) on February 7, 1991 and debuted with picadors in Benidorm on June 24, 1993. Antonio Barrera and Canales Rivera accompanied him on the poster, in front of young steers from Román Sorando.
The presentation in Las Ventas was on September 24, 1995 with Luis Miguel Encabo and Rafaelillo, with bulls from Las Ramblas. He opened his first ‘Puerta Grande’ (great door) in Las Ventas.
Although his launch as steer bullfighter took place, mainly in Mexico, where he fought a total of 26 bullfights and took the alternative on December 10, 1995, with Jorge Gutiérrez as godfather and Manolo Mejía as witness in the Monumental with bulls from Xajay.
His debut in Spain as a bullfighter took place in Granada on April 7, 1996, with Julio Aparicio and Finito de Córdoba facing a Torrestrella bullfight. He cut an ear. And the confirmation at Las Ventas arrived on May 14 of the same year with Ortega Cano as godfather and Jesulín de Ubrique as witness, with a Jandilla bullfight from which he obtained an ear.
In France he did it on August 3, 1996 in the town of Palavas, along with Emilio Muñoz and Denis Loré with bulls from José María Manzanares. Venezuela welcomed him on January 22, 1998 in San Cristóbal; accompanied by Morenito de Maracay and Joselito, the bulls were from San Sebastián de la Palma. The debut in Perú took place in Lima on November 22, 1998 with bulls from El Torreón, along with Vicente Barrera and El Juli. One ear was his trophy. Cali was the stage chosen to debut in Colombia, on January 3, 1999. The poster was completed by César Rincón and Enrique Ponce with bulls from Alhama. And in Quito, Ecuador, he would do it on November 30, 2001 with the livestock of Carlos Albornoz Cobos and accompanied by Finito de Córdoba and Guillermo Albán.
Career path:
Hereinafter he triumphs in the most important bullrings until he becomes one of the greatest figures of his time. Bullfighter of Madrid par excellence, in Las Ventas he has opened the ‘Puerta Grande’ seven times. Its bullfighting of value is based on the stillness and occupying the bull's land. His introverted nature has always kept him away from the media and his bullfights are not televised.
At the end of 2016 and with 473 bullfights as a bullfighter only in Europe, he had suffered more than twenty gorings.
"Mirando
torear a Manolete me di cuenta que todo
es vida, incluso la muerte". José Tomás
January 18 suffers a very serious goring in the bullring of Autlán de la Grana (Jalisco) for which he had to receive several blood transfusions.
On June 8, he leaves a bullring on shoulders for the first time as a bullfighter, Granada’s one, in a poster with Enrique Ponce and Francisco Rivera Ordóñez.
Finishes the year with 35 bullfights.
Winner of San Isidro after cutting both ears of a bull from Alcurrucén on May 27.
It’s the year of more bullfights, with a total of 79 celebrations and triumphs in places like Algeciras, Valencia, Toledo, Granada, Badajoz, Alicante, Santander, Pontevedra, Gijón, Málaga, Palencia or Guadalajara.
Once again winner in Madrid, he leaves on shoulders Las Ventas on May 28 at the Press Bullfight, where he cuts two ears of a bull from El Torreón.
Barcelona, Cáceres, Granada, Toledo, Badajoz, Segovia, Algeciras, Pamplona, Pontevedra and Bayona see him going out on shoulders. Plus Leganés, Málaga, Almería (winner of the ‘Capote de Paseo’ of the Virgin of the Sea Fair), San Sebastián de los Reyes, Linares (Manolete Trophy for the Best performance), Ronda or Palencia.
At the end of the season and after 72 bullfights, he breaks up with his managers since he was young, Santiago López and Emilio Miranda, and begins a new career with Enrique Martín Arranz, an independent entrepreneur.
He obtains the prize to the Best Bullfighter of the year, granted by the Real Bullfighting Federation.
He is presented in La Maestranza of Sevilla on April 4, Easter Sunday, with Curro Romero and Espartaco.
For the third consecutive year, he stands as Las Ventas' great winner, with four afternoons in which he cut a total of six ears and left on shoulders on May 18 and June 17 in the classic Charity Bullfight.
Barcelona is another of its talismanic bullrings, with which it always had a special idyll. That year he acts in three bullfights and cuts eleven ears.
He triumphs in Alicante, León, Algeciras, Santander, Huelva (‘El Cabezo’ Trophy), El Puerto de Santa María, La Coruña, El Escorial, Málaga (‘Estoque de Plata’ to the winner of the Fair), San Sebastián, Ronda, Salamanca or Valladolid.
64 bullfights at the end.
Winner of the
Cossío Prize to the best bullfighter of the year, awarded by the Royal Taurine Federation;
Best Bullfighter award of the year in Catalonia, awarded by the Catalan Federation of Taurine Clubs; prize for the
Most outstanding performance and the
winner of the season awarded by the Association of Bullfighting Critics and Informants of Catalonia.
Once again Barcelona becomes the scene of its triumphs, with four Great Doors throughout the season (Best performance of the Association of Bullfighting Critics of Catalonia); as well as in Jerez, Vistalegre, Córdoba (Best performance of the Fair), Nîmes, Alicante, Granada (‘Capote de Plata’ to the best performance of the Corpus Fair), León, Burgos, Santander, Huelva, El Puerto, Gijón, Béziers , San Sebastian, Bayonne, Málaga, Dax, Almería, Murcia, Albacete or Valladolid.
Season marked by the gorings in Zaragoza, Algeciras, Linares and Salamanca that ends with 55 bullfights.
The year which he conquers the fans of Seville, starting the season on April 15, Easter Sunday, in La Maestranza and leaving on shoulders the ‘Puerta del Príncipe’ (Prince’s Door, the main one of Sevilla bullring); repeats the feat on April 22 at the Fair.
Jerez, Barcelona, Ávila, Granada, León, Badajoz, Málaga (‘Estoque de Plata’ to the Winner of the Fair), Linares (Trophy Manolete), Ronda, Murcia or Valladolid also see him going out on shoulders.
Ends with 44 bullfights.
After triumphing in Jerez, Valladolid, Madrid, Toledo, Granada, El Puerto, Málaga, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Linares, Almería, Palencia or Salamanca and after 49 bullfights, he leaves the bullrings accusing the gorings, exhaustion and media pressure
Back and with a new manager, Salvador Boix, on June 17 he reappears triumphantly in the Monumental of Barcelona completely full and with a barbaric expectation. He goes out on shoulders after cutting three ears and the repercussion, even in the generalist media, overflows.
He carries out a campaign of 21 bullfights marked by the triumphs in Algeciras, Dax, San Sebastián, Málaga, Almería, Linares (Manolete Trophy for the Best performance), Salamanca, Murcia and Nîmes. In addition, on November 4, he leaves on shoulders for the first time as a bullfighter the Monumental of Mexico.
He is awarded the Paquiro Prize for the Bullfighting Event of the year and obtains the
Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts (he returned it the following year).
Make the ‘paseíllo’ in 25 bullrings. He becomes a legend in Las Ventas after bullfighting on June 5 bulls from Victoriano del Río and cutting four ears, a fact that had not happened there for 36 years. And he returns on the 15th and cuts three, but he can’t leave on foot because he receives three gorings.
To the triumphs of Castellón, Málaga (‘Estoque de Plata´to the Winner of the Fair), Jerez, Granada, Córdoba, Pontevedra, Cuenca, Linares, Salamanca and Murcia, we must add the closing season at the Monumental of Barcelona with the pardon of 'Idyllic' from Núñez del Cuvillo.
Receives again the
Paquiro Prize to the bullfighting event of the year and the
Golden Ear to the Triumph of the Season, granted by National Radio of Spain.
Of the 29 bullfights in which it acts, he leaves on shoulders 20. Castellón, Valencia, Málaga (‘Estoque de Plata’ and
‘Capote de Paseo’ to the Best Performance), Jerez (Trophy Los Toros, of Cadena Ser Radio Jerez, to the most distinguished bullfighter,
Gran Trophy Hotel Jerez to the Achiever and to the Most Exceptional of the Fair), Córdoba (Best Performance Award,
Achiever of the Fair and
Manolete Municipal Trophy), Nîmes, Granada (Award
‘to the detail to remember' for one of its tasks), Badajoz, Huelva (Triumph of the Fair), Gijón, Almería, Linares and Murcia enjoy their season.
But the feat takes place on July 5 in Barcelona, where he fights for the first time in his career six bulls in solitary and cuts five ears. Once again he closes the Spanish season in La Monumental leaving on shoulders (Achiever of the Season by the Association of Bullfighting Critics and Informants of Catalonia).
That year also triumphs in Mexico and Bogotá.
He fights six bullfights and triumphs in Bogotá, Olivenza and Castellón at the beginning of the season.
Cut the first ear of the Arnedo Arena at its opening on March 20.
But on April 24 at the Fair of San Marcos in Aguascalientes (Mexico), he suffers one of the worst gorings of his career when, in the last third of the performance, the bull sticks the python in his left leg causing a wound of 15 centimeters and crossing the femoral vein and the iliac artery, forcing him to cut the campaign after being about to die.
He reappears at the Fair of July in Valencia, specifically on the 23rd. It’s a short season that continues in Huelva, Bayona, Gijón, Ciudad Real, Linares and Valladolid; but where he really triumphs is in Nîmes and Barcelona.
On September 25 the Monumental of Barcelona hosts the last bullfight held in Catalonia. The excitement of the fans overflowed when José Tomas, Juan Mora and Serafín Marín left on shoulders of the ‘Puerta Grande’.
Only three
bullrings see
him: Badajoz,
Huelva and Nîmes.
He leaves all of them
on shoulders, but the milestone marks it
the evening of Nîmes, because it
supposes the second time he fights six
bulls in solitary and according to the
present ones, it is historical. José
Tomás cuts two ears to the bulls from
Victoriano del Rio, Jandilla, El Pilar
and Garcigrande; in addition to an ear
of Toros de Cortés one and the pardon of
'Ingrato' from Parladé.
After an absent season, he returns to fight on May 3 in Querétaro (Mexico), leaving on shoulders. The brief campaign is completed by Granada, León and Málaga.
He returns to Aguascalientes after his serious goring in his only performance of that year. Cut three ears.
Spain is looking forward to seeing him again and, after starting in La Mexico on January 31st, he makes six ‘paseíllos’ in Jerez de la Frontera, Alicante, Huelva, San Sebastián and Valladolid (two).
His only
appearance is on
December 12 in
La Mexico, in
the Corrida
Guadalupana, for
the those
affected by the
terrible
earthquakes that
devastated the
country in
September.
Shares the
poster with
Pablo Hermoso de
Mendoza,
Joselito Adame,
El Payo, El Juli,
Sergio Flores,
Manzanares and
Luis David,
hanging the
typical 'No
tickets'. Cuts
an ear.
José Tomás also holds the title of
Favorite Son of
Galapagar, the
Gold Medal of the
City of Madrid and is
Knight of the
Grand Cross of the Order of the Two of
May.
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Alicante
2016
photo:
Simón
Casas Productions |
Alicante
2016
photo:
Simón
Casas Productions |
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Alicante
2016
photo:
Simón
Casas Productions |
Alicante
2016 photo:
Simón
Casas Productions |
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Granada
2014
photo:
Simón
Casas
Productions |
Granada
2014
photo:
Simón
Casas
Productions |
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Last bullfight held in Barcelona |
First 'Puerta Grande' in Madrid |
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