Curro Romero

Early life Curro Romero was born on 1 December 1933 (although at least one source says 4 December 1933) in the Andalusian town of Camas into a very humble family. There, Romero lived at his uncle's house on the Calle de la Cruz, a narrow little laneway that was cold and damp. His father, who was a fancier of flamenco as well as bullfighting, worked at the fish market, spending nights in the Barranco de la Pañoleta ("Headscarf Gully") gathering and preparing fish. His mother Andrea worked, too, at Mr. Barea's olive warehouse. Despite the drawbacks of living in this way, however, neither he nor his sisters (the elder one María; the younger one Buendía) ever went hungry. Romero himself recalls with fondness the dishes of stew and scad that their mother would make them. He learnt to make do with what they had, which was rather little.

From his father, Romero learnt about bullfighting, although in the elder Romero's case, it was "armchair bullfighting", as young Curro's father never gathered the courage to put himself before a bull, preferring to enjoy the pursuit vicariously. Nevertheless, Romero chose the path of bullfighting. His father also had a passion for flamenco, and Romero learnt about that, too. becoming the bullfighter to have cut off the most bull's ears in one afternoon in the Maestranza's history.

Romero gave 35 alternativas. Among those whom he thus honoured were Julio Aparicio Díaz and Cristina Sánchez. There is also a monument to Romero in Seville, near the Maestranza.

By his own words, one of Romero's best faenas (series of passes before the bullfighter slays the bull) was one performed on 20 April 1967 at the Maestranza with a Benítez Cubero bull. After two "fantastic" faenas, the people there lifted him onto their shoulders and bore him out through the Prince's Gate, without him ever even cutting any ears off the bulls that he had slain.

Retirement With roughly 900 corridas fought in his career, Romero bid farewell to the bullrings at a festival held in La Algaba, Seville, on 22 October 2000, at which he cut three ears. Nevertheless, the last time when he donned the suit of lights was in Murcia, on 10 September 2000, a corrida at which he alternated with Julián López El Juli and Pepín Jiménez, fighting bulls supplied by the Luis Algarra ranch.

Romero's professional career has been one of the longest ever known, alternating between epic afternoons and the greatest failures, and, as with José Gómez Ortega and Juan Belmonte, dividing fandom between those aficionados who thought he could do no wrong (curristas), and those who never had a kind word for him (anticurristas). He is a recognized follower of Real Betis Balompié and was a friend of the flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla. He divorced his first wife in 1982.

After his first wife's death on 18 October 2021, Romero could marry Carmen Tello with the Church's blessing, and did so in the chapel at the Casa de Pilatos on 18 December 2022.

Health Romero's retirement has not been uneventful where medical events are concerned. In 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Romero had a laryngeal tumour that needed treatment. An operation would have left him voiceless; so he underwent radiotherapy instead. The tumour has apparently disappeared, after 38 radiotherapy treatments. He recuperated at home.

In May 2024, when he was 90 years old, he had to be hospitalized and undergo surgery after a household accident broke his hip. He was, however, soon convalescing at home, with his wife's help.

Distinctions Romero has received, among other honours, the following, which entitle him to be known by the honorific Excelentísimo Señor: 1993, Medal of Andalusia, awarded in recognition of actions, services and exceptional or extraordinary merit achieved by persons or entities that are a manifestation of work and solidarity for the benefit of other citizens. 2005, named a Favourite Son of the Province of Seville. 1997, Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts. 2008, Academic by the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de Hungría, Seville, the first time that the Academy granted a bullfighter such a distinction. 2020, Favourite Son of Andalusia.