>> A matador de toros is considered to be both an artist and an athlete, possessing great agility, grace, and co-ordination

A matador de toros is considered to be both an artist and an athlete, possessing great agility, grace, and co-ordination. One of the most famous matadors was Juan Belmonte (1892–1962), whose technique in the ring revolutionized bullfighting and remains an established standard by which a great deal of bullfighters are judged. The style and bravery of the matador is regarded as being, at least, equally important as to whether or not he actually kills the bull. The most successful matadores used to be treated like pop stars, with matching financial incomes, cult followings and accompanied by lurid tabloid stories about their romantic conquests with women.

Currently, however, even today's top matadors earn less, in real terms, than their peers did in the 1960s--and much of mass media coverage is only limited to a handful of matadors known as the "mediáticos", the sum of which do not necessarily include any of the nation's prized bullfighters in Spain.

Early 20th-century photograph of a matador, showing traditional outfit

The great personal danger of bullfighting adds to the performing matador's mystique; matadores are regularly injured by bulls and, concurrently, 533 professional bullfighters have been killed in the arena since 1700. One of the most famous bullfighters in history, Manolete, died this way in 1947. This hazard is said to be central to the nature and appeal of bullfighting.

The American writer Ernest Hemingway was a bullfighting aficionado. Within his fictional works, The Sun Also Rises features a matador and scenes of bullfighting, as do his short stories The Capital of the World and The Undefeated. Outside of fiction, he also wrote at length on the subject in Death in the Afternoon (1932) and The Dangerous Summer (1959).

In 1962, Hollywood producer David Wolper produced "The Story Of A Matador", documenting what it's like to be a matador. In this case, it was the late Matador Jaime Bravo.
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