03/07/2025
Although this is a great sentiment and we wish it really happened, it did not. That's not Munero in the photo. The matador in the photo is actually asserting dominance of the bull, who he, the matador, has already caused to experience a lot of pain. The pictured matador is not retired, also still fighting bulls, and there is no record of any remorse for his behavior. He, like all bullfighters, fight only bulls who have been seriously physically impaired prior to entering the ring. Again, as all bulls involved in bullfighting are.
In spite of the disadvantaging handicapping procedures the bulls are subjected to prior to ever facing the "bullfighter" many bulls actually DO manage to hurt the privileged, entitled matadors. Mimicking real life? Karma?
In fact, the real Munero IS retired from bullfighting. Due to a bull putting him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He's now involved in the anti-bullfighting movement. Unfortunately, the circumstances make one think that his concerns center around the possibilities of harm to the humans involved, not the egregious treatment of the living, breathing, feeling, sentient bull.
In what sick universe can this be right? In what sick universe could it have EVER been right?
Makes you want to resign from the human race, doesn't it?
During a tense bullfight, matador Alvaro Munero did the unthinkable. As the crowd roared for another dramatic strike, he suddenly stepped away from the bull, walked to the edge of the arena, and sat down. Silence swept over the stadium.
Later, Munero explained this life-changing moment:
“For an instant, I forgot about the horns. All I could see were his eyes — not filled with rage, but with something far deeper: innocence. He wasn’t attacking me. He was just looking at me, silently pleading for his life. That’s when I realized this wasn’t just an animal I was fighting — it was a living being who wanted to live as much as I did.”
In that gaze, he saw a purity only animals can hold. Consumed by guilt, he dropped his sword, left the ring, and made a vow: never again would he fight a bull. Instead, he would stand against a world that turns torture into entertainment.
Alvaro Munero’s story is a rare and powerful reminder that even in the harshest places, compassion can break through — and one moment of empathy can change a life forever.
