Conchita Cintrón
| Conchita Cintrón | |
|---|---|
Conchita entering a bullring in Segovia, Spain
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| Born |
August 9, 1922 Antofagasta, Chile |
| Died | February 17, 2009 (aged 86) Lisbon, Portugal |
| Resting place | Trajouce, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Occupation | Professional bullfighter, journalist, dog breeder |
| Years active | 1936-1950 |
| Spouse(s) | Francisco de Castelo Branco |
| Children | Six |
| Parent(s) |
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Concepción Cintrón Verrill, also known as Conchita Cintrón or La Diosa de Oro ('The Golden Goddess') (August 9, 1922 in Antofagasta – February 17, 2009 in Lisbon), was a Chilean-Peruvian torera (female bullfighter), perhaps the most famous in the history of bullfighting. In the ring Cintrón was said to display particular grace, style and bravado, a combination known as duende.
Cintrón was born in 1922 in Antofagasta, in northern Chile. Her father, Francisco Cintrón Ramos, was from Puerto Rico and the second Puerto Rican to graduate from West Point, Major General Luis R. Esteves being the first. After serving in the United States military he became a South American businessman. Her mother, Lola Kathleen Verrill, was an American of Irish ancestry. By the time she was three years old, the family had moved to Lima, Peru, where she grew up, learned to ride, and began her career as a bullfighter.
In Lima, she rode her first pony at three, and joined the riding school of the Portuguese rejoneador Ruy da Cámara, an immigrant to Peru, at 11. Cámara also became her bullfighting teacher. She trained originally as a rejoneadora, a bullfighter from horseback. This is the form of bullfighting practiced in Portugal.
She first fought in public in the Plaza de Acho, in Lima, in January 1936. On July 31, 1938 she made her debut as a novillera, also in Lima. This event established her as a professional rejoneadora, a rare (but not unprecedented) honor for a woman. After a trip to Portugal, she was invited to perform in Mexico. She made her Mexico City debut at the Plaza del Toreo on August 20, 1938. She failed to kill her bull, but nevertheless was a great hit with the crowd and the taurine critics. She was reported to have "caused pandemonium in the stands".
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