Fandiño, who hailed from Orduña in Spain’s Basque Country, had built a reputation as a matador willing to face the fiercest bulls—those other fighters often turned away. His technique was marked by both bravery and grace, and his name had become synonymous with fearlessness. That courage, however, came at a devastating cost.

During the fight, he made a misstep—an error so slight it would have been unnoticeable under different circumstances. As he maneuvered his cape, it tangled around his legs, and he stumbled, falling to the sand in a vulnerable heap. Before he could recover, the nearly half-tonne bull charged and gored him with brutal force