José Ruiz Muñoz (Puerto Real, Cádiz, 1995) is a fine-mannered bullfighter who took the alternative in October 2021 in the Valencian town of Requena and confirmed it in Las Ventas on July 2 of last year, but until now he has not exercised much in the bullfighting arena. He had an exciting stage as a novillero, but the lack of resounding triumphs after his move to the higher ranks has relegated him, like so many others, to business oblivion. However, he was announced at the last April Fair, and even then it was rumoured that the bullfighter was going through a difficult family situation.
A few days ago, Ruiz Muñoz published a letter in which he explained the problem in detail: on October 29, his wife, Ana, suffered two cardiorespiratory arrests after giving birth to her second child by Caesarean section. She spent two months in a deep coma in the ICU of a hospital in Seville, and in mid-July she was transferred to Almería, to her parents’ home, where she remains in a vegetative state. In addition, in the sixteenth week of pregnancy, doctors detected an affection in the ventricles of the fetus’s brain, which led to hydrocephalus in the baby.
“I don’t want to arouse pity or look for excuses, but anyone who wants to know me as a bullfighter must first get to know the person, which is the most important thing,” the bullfighter says. “I am a believer, with deep faith, and that is what keeps me hopeful about Ana’s recovery and that we can one day achieve normality in my family,” he adds.
“I don’t intend to arouse pity, or look for excuses, but whoever wants to know me as a bullfighter must first know the person, which is the most important thing”
Ruiz Muñoz is the great-nephew of Curro Romero, from whom he has inherited unique bullfighting genes, but he is still waiting for the opportunity and luck to come together so that he can achieve his dream goals in his profession.
The bullfighter says that his family’s extreme circumstances did not prevent him from triumphing in Niebla (Huelva) a week after his wife’s birth. He participated in two festivals, went to the countryside, and arrived at the April Fair with the hope of “fixing” his bullfighting life. But another worrying piece of news crossed his path. Just when the posters for Seville were made public, the neurologist who looks after his young son (the couple has another three-year-old daughter) told him that on April 8, the day after the bullfight in which he was announced, the brain surgery for the hydrocephalus that the child suffers from would be carried out.
“Obviously, the news affected me,” says the bullfighter; “in addition, that was a key afternoon in my career, but the bulls were of no use and my world fell apart. I began to think that God was telling me to abandon the profession, but no, quite the opposite; I am a bullfighter and what I needed was time to dedicate to my family, and now that I have everything a little more in order, I must continue forward with the same enthusiasm as always.”
Ask. The profession has become difficult for him…
AnswerBeing a bullfighter is not easy, whatever your personal situation, but I have experienced difficult moments and other very satisfying ones; what keeps me alive is that in front of the bull I continue to find beautiful sensations.
P. But the goals are not being met…
RLife is very long and you never know what awaits you; but if you dedicate your life to following your path, sooner or later opportunities will come.
The arrival of José Ruiz Muñoz in the bullring was a surprise due to his close family relationship with the master Curro Romero; open-handed with his cape and muleta, one could glimpse in the new bullfighter certain traces of the poise and personality of his great-uncle. “There are many details that are genetic,” says Ruiz Muñoz. “I have a picture at home of my uncle in a half-veronica in Nimes and my little nephew says that it is me; I have his influences, without a doubt, because I have always been passionate about his personality and his expression.”
P. By the way, has your relationship with Curro Romero benefited or harmed you?
RThere have been many times when I have benefited from him because I have been able to cover a lot of ground thanks to him and because of the advice he has given me. On the other hand, sometimes I have been negatively affected because the fans came to the ring ready to see in me a figure that is impossible to approach. My uncle had a very marked personality as a bullfighter and a style of his own that was impossible to imitate. I have also been harmed by the pressure that I have been subjected to myself.
“I have not done much bullfighting and I have suffered many ups and downs, but my greatest virtue is perseverance. I have faith in God, who is the basis of my life.”
Ruiz Muñoz says that he learned “the four rules of bullfighting” at the Chiclana bullfighting school with the matador Emilio Oliva, who was “the wall” in many tentaderos (waiting to give a few passes to a cow after the intervention of the bullfighter invited by the rancher), and only when he knew how to handle the equipment did he call Curro, send him a video and ask for his help. His uncle invited him to a tentadero and then asked the man who had been his sword boy, Gonzalito, to represent him before the companies.
That relationship between bullfighter and manager was broken after Ruiz Muñoz passed through Las Ventas without a triumph as a novillero with horses, but not with his uncle, “with whom I continue to maintain an extraordinary relationship, always looking out for me, although I have my own path in the constant search for my personality.”
PAnd what is your concept of bullfighting?
R. Above all, transparency as a bullfighter. I do what I feel at each moment, and I look for naturalness, the relaxation of the muscles in front of the bull.
PIs he a brave bullfighter?
R. Courage comes from knowledge and the mental state of the bullfighter. Sometimes, I have been surprised by what I have been able to do in front of a bull.
P. And the future, José?
RAfter Seville, I only have one festival on August 15 in the town of Mozoncillo in Segovia and two bullfights still to be held in October, but I continue to prepare, convinced that this is my path and that the opportunity will come.
PBut the circumstances are not the most favorable.
R. I know that I have not done much bullfighting and I have had many ups and downs, but my greatest virtue is perseverance, working and moving forward despite everything. I have faith in God, who is the basis of my life, and in my family. And I say more: if I were not a bullfighter, I don’t know if I would have been able to cope with this situation. The bull teaches you very special values to face problems in a different way.
PBut now he will live in Almería and there are few options there to go to the bullfighting field.
RMy wife and children need me, I rely on the help of my in-laws and my parents, and I am used to travelling by car. Fortunately, I have good friends who are ranchers and treat me well, and I will be ready when my opportunity comes.