Iván Fandiño

Iván Fandiño Barros (Spanish: [iˈβan fanˈdiɲo ˈβaros]; 29 September 1980 – 17 June 2017) was a Spanish bullfighter. He died when a bull named Provechito gored him during a bullfight at the bullring in Aire-sur-l'Adour in the south of France, only 343 days after fellow Spanish bullfighter Víctor Barrio had met the same fate.

Early life

Fandiño was born in Orduña, Biscay on 29 September 1980 to parents whose roots lay in A Coruña. Although there was no bullfighting background in his family, he became interested in bullfighting at the age of 14 after standing out as a pelota player in his youth.

Fandiño first donned the suit of lights in Laudio, Álava on 16 August 1999, in an appearance at which he alternated with José Manuel Sánchez, fighting young bulls supplied by the Miguel Zaballos ranch.

After Fandiño's short time at the Vitoria and Valencia bullfighting schools in Bilbao – both went out of business twenty days after he joined – during the 2000 and 2001 bullfighting seasons he shared bullfighting instruction alongside bullfighters Raúl Gracia, El Tato, Antonio Ferrera, and Juan José Padilla, on the banks of the mouth of the River Guadalquivir, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. At first announced by the nickname El Niño de la Antigua, Fandiño later chose to drop this nickname in 2003.

Bullfighting career

He had his début with picadores on 2 June 2002 in Orduña, with yearling bulls supplied by the Salamancan Javier Pérez Tabernero ranch, and with Fandiño sharing the billing with Julien Lescarret and Iker Javier Lara, cutting three ears at this event. He ended this difficult season with two further appearances.