El Fandi (born David Fandila Marín in Granada, Spain) is statistically one of the most skilled matadors in the world. Currently, he is ranked number one among all bullfighters in Spain.El Fandi was a member of Spain's national skiing team in his teenage years; however, there was a history of bullfighting in his family, and he had always loved bullfighting. He decided to attend the Jose Antonio Martín Municipal School for Bullfighting in Almería where he learned the skills and technique of bullfighting. He started his career as a picador in Santa Fe, near Granada and debuted as a matador in 2000.
David Fandila Marín was born on June 13, 1981 in Granada, Spain, the son of Trinidad Marín and Juan Fandila, a banderillero, or flagman. David’s mother was in danger during the pregnancy and was encouraged to terminate the pregnancy. However, she decided to ignore the advice and continued with the pregnancy.“It was a battle between David and Goliath,” Trinidad remembers, “that’s the reason I named him David.”
David spent his childhood living in the Albayzín, a Moorish district in Granada. However, his parents soon moved to the Sierra Nevada Mountains where they found a steady job serving as guards in a building. While living in this community, David and his brother, Juan Álvaro, spent time skiing in the mountains. They specialized in Alpine Skiing and Acrobatic Skiing, but were talented in many areas of the sport. The brothers joined the Federación Española de Esquí where they competed in competitions; David left with a national title.
Each bullfight consists of 3 matadors and six bulls; each matador fights 2 bulls. Bullfights consist of 3 tercios, or parts. In the first part, the matador fights with a cape while the bull is provoked by the picador (a helper on horseback who holds a lance and prepares the bull for the final performance). In the second round, the banderilleros stick banderillas
(sticks adorned with colored sashes) into the bulls upper back.
Sometimes the matador himself will do this; however, usually it is done
by the banderilleros. During the third round, the matador returns with a cape and sword and kills the bull.If the matador makes a good kill, the public asks the president of the ring to reward the matador by waving bandanas or small fans. The reward is cutting the ears and/or tail of the bull; earning the tail is more prestigious than earning the ears. A higher reward is that of exiting the plaza de toros (bullring) through the front doors, which are called puertas grandes.
When he was four years old, David began to practice bullfighting using papers and rags in Pradollano Square. When he wanted to practice with the banderillas, he stuck forks in the sofa, pretending it was a bull.
‘El Fandi’ appeared for the first time in a becerrada (a bullfight with young bulls), in Armilla (Granada) on September 30, 1995. After a couple of these small bullfights, he made his first appearance as a novillero (bullfighting apprentice) on April 19, 1998 in Santa Fe (Granada).
El Fandi faced many hardships early in his career, having to fight in
many difficult bullrings, many of which were close to Madrid. However,
thanks to his agents, Antonio Rodriguez and Manolo Martín, he started to
become a better bullfighter. In 1999, he was classified as one of the
top banderilleros with 60 successful bullfights. Later in that year, he made his introduction to the world of bullfighting in the Monumental de Las Ventas in Madrid where he cut one ear from his second bull, thus earning his first prize.El Fandi finished his bullfights in 1999 successfully. On October 31, he killed six bulls and cut five ears. Around this time, Emilio Miranda Casas and Santiago López began to represent El Fandi in his career. Emilio Miranda was the well-known and prestigious manager of the bullring in Granada. López was a retired matador, or bullfighter, and an agent to bullfighters with a lot of experience and a good reputation. Both men believed David could be the great bullfighter Granada was waiting for; however, it would be a long road. David needed to improve his fundamentals, Santiago López worked hard with him.
The year 2000 began with one goal in mind: El Fandi was going to become a matador in la Feria del Corpus (a weeklong fair in Granada honoring its city-saint, Corpus Christi). However, just before his alternativa (a bullfight in which the junior bullfighter is presented to the crowd as a matador), he suffered a fracture in his right elbow in a bullfighting accident in Murcia. However, despite the fracture, El Fandi decided to fight and become a matador on June 18, 2000. That afternoon, while wearing protection on his right arm and fighting mainly with his left, El Fandi cut two ears and became a hero in Granada.
