Matador Ivan Fandiño’s chilling final words revealed.
A Spanish bullfighter was tragically gored to death in 2017 after tripping over his own cape in a chilling turn of events during a French festival.
Fandiño’s history of bullfighting exposed.
The Basque-born bullfighter had built a reputation on fearlessness, often taking on bulls others refused to face.
In 2015, he was hurled into the air by a bull in Pamplona, and in 2014, knocked unconscious during a fight in Bayonne.
Fandiño’s career spanned over 12 years, during which he gained both admiration and notoriety for taking extreme risks.
His confrontational style earned him praise from traditionalists, who hailed his courage as old-school and uncompromising.
Off the sand, Fandiño was also a father and public figure, admired across Spain and southern France.
Bullfighting incident explained.
Ivan Fandiño, a 36-year-old veteran matador, was performing at the Aire-sur-l’Adour bullfighting festival in southwest France when disaster struck.
As he maneuvered in the ring, Fandiño lost his footing after catching his feet in his flowing cape.
The fumble left him exposed and vulnerable, face down on the arena floor—right in the path of a charging bull.
The animal gored him in the torso, its horn puncturing his lungs and several other vital organs in one swift, brutal motion.
Staggering and bleeding heavily, Fandiño was photographed conscious as he was rushed away from the arena for emergency treatment.
French media reported that he died from a heart attack en route to the hospital.
Aftermath of shocking incident profiled.
He had already fought earlier that same day before his fatal bout with the half-tonne beast.
Fandiño’s death was the first of its kind in France in nearly 100 years, according to French newspaper Sud-Ouest.
The last matador killed in France was Isidoro Mari Fernando, gored in the Béziers arena in 1921.
King Felipe of Spain honored him as a “great bullfighter figure” in a tweet, echoed by then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Bullfighting rings across the country observed moments of silence, with fans laying flowers in his honor.
In 2016, Victor Barrio became the first Spanish matador in 30 years to be gored to death—on live TV.
While both countries allow bullfighting, critics say it’s outdated, violent, and cruel—a claim that sparks fiery national debates.
Despite rising pressure from animal rights groups, Spain protects the practice under national heritage laws.
France formally declared bullfighting legal that year, cementing its role in southwestern regional traditions.
Organizations like PETA and local French advocates continue to lobby for its total ban, calling it “barbaric spectacle.”
His demise ignited another wave of criticism about the ethics and safety of bullfighting—for humans and animals alike.
After his death, many in the bullfighting world and beyond have fixated on his chilling final words, repeating them as a grim symbol of the sport’s ever-present danger.
Bullfighter’s haunting final words unveiled.
As medics rushed to his side and spectators held their breath, Fandiño was still conscious, though bleeding profusely from his wounds.
Struggling to breathe and fully aware of the damage done, he looked up at the rescuers surrounding him.
With his final strength, he uttered a haunting plea that would echo through bullfighting history.
Witnesses say his final chilling words as he was carried off were: “Hurry up, I’m dying.”
Matador Juan del Alamo later slayed the bull, describing the scene as something no one could believe: “It was all so fast.”
Del Alamo added, “The bull knocked him down with its hindquarters and he fell face down.”
Matador’s story still echoes in the bullfighting world.
To this day, Fandiño’s name is mentioned with reverence and controversy, depending on who you ask.
In the end, it was not the bull, but a misstep with his cape, that sealed the fate of one of Spain’s most fearless matadors.