CARLOS & THE BULL

Mark Volman & Howard Kaylan, Barnaby Conrad

SPOKEN:
On the 23rd of August in 1947
A peon and a bull killed each other in the ring
And plunged an entire nation into deep mourning

The bull’s name was Buddy
And he was of the dreaded Milos strain
The man’s name was Carlos
And he was considered to be
the bravest and most skillful matadors of those times

Ole for the brave matador
Ole for his scarlet muleta
Ole for his “el naturale”
Ole for the matador
He must face…de bull

SPOKEN:
Y huela, Carlos, what do they want?
I know very well what they want
And one of these afternoons I may give it to them
And keep them happy

Ole for the man with the sword
Let’s boo the fat Picador
A tear for the death destined Miura
Ole for the matador
He must fight de bull

His suit of light, he wears to fight
It’s not too tight, it fits just right
He prays tonight for he must fight
He must fight…de bull

SPOKEN:
Chimo, I want the dress cape with the roses
They always brings luck
I don’t see any reason
Why we should not start this affair

Ole for the bull bred to kill
Ole for the man who must meet him
Ole for brave matador
Ole for the matador he must kill…

SPOKEN:
He died? He died? And they did not give us anything?
Si, Carlos. Every thing. Both ears and the tail
The roses, they did not bring us luck today
how my mother will suffer
I…I can’t feel nothing in my left leg!
I…I can’t feel nothing in my right leg!
Are..are my eyes open? I cannot see!

And he fell back dead (…thud)

De bull…..
De bull…..

SPOKEN:
They kept demanding more and more of him
And more was his life
So he gave it to them

Here is the real story…

Of all the bullfighters who have died in bullfights, Manolete is the most famous. He died in the ring in Linares on August 28th in 1947. The Museum of Bullfighting in Cordoba is dedicated to him.

Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez, “Manolete”,was born in Córdoba in 1917. By the age of 12 he had already given several “capotazos” and the following year made his public debut in the Montilla school of bullfighting (Cordoba). He then became an itinerant member of the bullfighting show “Los Califas”.

In June 1939 he fought as a “Novillero”(novice) and one month later becomes a fully fledged bullfighter, receiving his “alternativa”, (a ceremony in which a bullfighter authorizes a novice to take his place among the doctorate bullfighters) in Chiclanero, Seville. He confirmed his “alternativa” in Madrid on 12th October of the same year at the hands of Marcial Lalanda. The great Juan Belmonte was the other matador on that unforgettable afternoon when Manolete proved his brilliance to the bullfighting world. By the end of the season he had fought 16 bullfights and had unbeatable prospects for the coming season.
In 1940 he appeared at all the top bullfights in Seville, Alicante, Bilbao, Barcelona and Madrid and became the star of Spanish bullfighting. At the end of the 1945 season he travelled to South America where his astounding successes in the bullrings of Mexico. Peru, Venezuela and Colombia made him the most famous bullfighter in the world.

An ongoing rivalry existed with the Mexican Carlos Arruza and with the young bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin who challenged him publically. The resulting bullfight in which Manolete triumphed in the Bullring of Las Ventas in Madrid would be his last in this cathedral of bullfighting.