Manuel Benítez, the Cordoban

Manuel Benítez Pérez, known as el Cordobés (Palma del Río, Córdoba, May 4, 1936), is a Spanish bullfighter.

Of humble origins, he managed to become one of the most famous representatives of international bullfighting and is considered one of the icons of the sixties. Unorthodox, he always exalted immobility before the bull in his style and as a matador always caused excitement and controversy. On October 29, 2002, he was proclaimed the fifth Caliph of Bullfighting by the city council of Córdoba, a title shared with Rafael Molina, Lagartijo; Rafael Guerra, Guerrita; Rafael González, Machaquito and Manolete.

Career in the bullrings

On Sunday, April 28, 1957, he threw himself into the ring spontaneously in a bullfight that was held in the Las Ventas bullring. He went on the fifth in the afternoon, receiving a severe beating from the bull and then being arrested.

He wore lights for the first time, on August 15, 1957, in Roa de Duero (Burgos). On August 27, 1960, he debuted in Palma del Río with Juan Pedro Domecq y Díez's horses and livestock, cutting off four ears and a tail.

He bullfighted two hundred and three bullfights as a bullfighter, from 1960 to 1963, before taking the alternative that last year, on May 25, in Córdoba. His godfather was the right-handed Antonio Bienvenida and he came out on shoulders that same afternoon when he obtained two ears at the celebration. He maintained a great rivalry with Miguelín.

He was the leader of the statistics in 1965, 1967, 1970, 1971, retiring from the arena that year until his return in 1979. He had few celebrations, until September 14, 1981, when a spontaneous man was killed during a bullfight held in the Albacete bullring. In which he shared the bill with Rafael de Paula and Palomo Linares and decided to retire permanently.

It reappears in 1995, in Fuengirola, on Wednesday, April 12, with Joaquín Núñez's bulls hand in hand with Jesulín. Providing a bull, the one of reappearance, to the Nobel Prize winner Camilo José Cela. Fourteen years later, Manuel Benítez, from Cordoba, fifty-nine years old, dressed in lights again, although this time he did not fill the square. But the objective was met. "I come with great enthusiasm for people to have fun," he said before starting the bullfight in Fuengirola (Málaga). And based on the generosity of the public, this must have been the case, since he awarded him four ears after having a great time with the frog jump and repeating the entire range of awkwardness and postures that made him famous. He bullfights the next day, in Benidorm, on April 13, with Marcos Núñez's bulls hand in hand with Jesulín. He hurts his knee and cuts the 1995 season short.

It reappears in Xátiva, on May 1, 1996, with a bullfight by Nazario Ibáñez. In which Manuel Benítez, from Cordobés, acted as godfather and Fernando Martín, Sacromonte, served as witness. In the alternative of the bullfighter, José Pacheco, the Caliph. A strong somersault, which broke his ribs, kept him out of the arena until 2000.

He reappeared in 2000 and after only two bullfights he announced his retirement again due, in his words, to the fact that "with the current bull it is not possible, he simply does not work...", despite this he returned to the bullrings in various bullfights and festivals.

Private life

He married María Martina Fraysse Urruty (Biarritz, 1945), in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Belén in Palma del Río, on October 11, 1975. Manuel and Martina have had five children: María Isabel, Manuel María, Rafael, Martina and Julio. In 2016 they ended their marriage.

The Provincial Court of Córdoba has confirmed the existence of two illegitimate children. In May 2000, he recognized María Ángeles Benítez Raigón and, in May 2016, Manuel Díaz González.

In the United States he has another recognized illegitimate child (the actor, now deceased, Manuel Benítez), with Alina Elizabeth Velasco.

Various data

He has several songs that pay tribute to him, such as the one called Manuel Benítez, el Cordobés performed by the presenter, singer and actress Carmen Sevilla and sung in several languages by the renowned French singer Dalida. and Cordobés from the Mexican group Los Tepetatles. Another famous song that the Cordobés sing is the song of the singer, Juanito, el Mejorano, called Retírate, Cordobés.

In 1967 he was awarded the gold medal for Tourist Merit in Spain.

In December 2015, King Felipe VI and King Letizia awarded him the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.

He participated as an actor in the films Learning to Die (1962), Blackmail a Bullfighter (1963) and Europe Here We Come! (1971). For his intervention in the first, he received the Antonio Barbero Award for Breakthrough Actor in the 1962 edition of the Cinematographic Writers' Circle medals.

He has streets in his name in numerous cities, perhaps one of the most striking being the avenue in his honor that he has in Sunrise Manor in the metropolitan area of Las Vegas, United States, next to Palma del Río Street, in honor also to the people where he was born.

In 2017, Manuel Benítez Pérez is implicated in the case of the so-called Paradise Papers (tax evasion).

Since 2015, it has had a museum dedicated to his figure in his native municipality, Palma del Río (Córdoba). The Manuel Benítez House Museum "El Cordobés" It has a library, screening room and several exhibition rooms in addition to the permanent exhibition.

Spirituality

One of the most unknown talents of the right-hander is his role as a spiritual teacher. From his authorship, we find one of the most important mantras of the contemporary world. The depth of it, together with the apparent lightness of it, make its message a master and stainless key for the opening of new realities of humanity. The mantra goes like this:

It means getting mental and really loving yourself.

Healthy, that body, have power, be happy,

love yourself, love yourself a lot,

because you also love who you have by your side,

and everything comes out for real, for sport.

Source: https://youtu.be/JrNeQiMAcAM

Honorary distinctions

• Gold Medal to the Tourist Merit (1967)
• Toreo Caliph (2003)
• Medalla de Andalucía (2023)