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Rafael de Paula, Singular Matador of 'Duende,' Dies at 85

Obituaries emphasize a singular stylist whose 'duende' coexisted with injuries, legal troubles, late-life frailty.

Overview

  • His family confirmed the death on November 2, with immediate tributes from Jerez officials and cultural figures.
  • Born in Jerez’s barrio de Santiago in 1940, he debuted in Ronda in 1957, took the alternativa there in 1960, and confirmed in Madrid in 1974.
  • A 1979 faena in Jerez, cutting two ears and the tail from the bull Sedoso, was later commemorated with a plaque in the local ring.
  • He received Spain’s Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts in 2002, reflecting broad recognition of his artistic impact.
  • Chronic knee and leg injuries led to as many as ten operations and a wheelchair in later years, while his record included a 1995 prison term from a 1985 case and a later detention over an alleged threat to a lawyer.