Juanito Apinani

Who was Juanito Apinani?

Juanito Apinani was a Catalonian bullfighter. He was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1827. He was the son of Roberto Apinani and Anita Rodriguez Reginalda Apinani. As a boy, Juanito admired the brave matadors and dreamed of traveling to Madrid to become one. In 1840, he had his literal 'lucky break'. Some men from Madrid had come to his father's farm to inspect bulls for the bullfights. Juanito, who had been tending to the cows, noticed that one of the bulls was getting agitated. As it charged the inspectors and his father, Juanito used his rake to vault onto the raging bull's back. He was thrown off of the crazed animal into a tree and fractured his wrist, but the bull was diverted and the inspectors thought that his display of untrained skill could one day make him a successful matador. By 1842, Juanito was an emerging star. In just two years he had graduated from the training of Alexandro Anipanuevo, an ex-matador who was considered one of the best teachers in Madrid. In another year's time Juanito was a professional matador and one of the many celebrated stars of Spain.