Torero

A torero or toureiro is a bullfighter and the main performer in bullfighting, practised in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Peru, France and various other countries influenced by Spanish culture. In Spanish, the word torero describes any of the performers who actively participate in the bullfight. The main one who is the leader of the entourage and who kills the bull is addressed as maestro (master) and his formal title is matador de toros (killer of bulls) but the word "matador" by itself is not used in Spanish. The term torero encompasses all who fight the bull in the ring (picadores and rejoneadores). The other bullfighters in the entourage are called subalternos and their suits are embroidered in silver as opposed to the matador's gold.

An alternative word for torero is toreador in English (and in Bizet's opera Carmen), but this term (older than torero) is not used in Spain and seldom in Latin America.

A very small number of women have been bullfighters on foot or on horseback, a recent example being Cristina Sánchez. Female matadors have experienced considerable resistance and hostility from aficionados and other matadors.

Usually, toreros start fighting young bulls (novillos or, more informally in some Latin American countries, vaquillas), and are called novilleros. Fighting of mature bulls commences only after a special match, called "the Alternative". At this bullfight the novillero (junior bullfighter) is presented to the crowd as a matador de toros.

Bullfighting is not called or considered a sport but rather a performance art. There is no contest nor punctuation or classification.

Bullfighting historically started with nobles on horseback lancing bulls with commoners on foot doing helping jobs. As time went by the work of the commoners on foot gained in importance up to the point where they became the main and only act. Bullfighting on horseback became a separate and distinct act called "rejoneo" which is still performed although not as often as bullfighting on foot.

Bullfighting on foot became a means for poor people to achieve fame and fortune. When a famous torero was asked why he risked his life, he reportedly answered Más cornadas da el hambre ("Hunger strikes more painfully", lit. "Hunger gives more gores"). It is now common for a bullfighter to be born into a family of bullfighters.

Maletilla or espontáneo are those who illegally jump into the ring and attempt to bullfight. While the practice is widely despised, some, such as El Cordobés, start their career this way.