Monumento a Manolete
| BULLFIGHTER |
| 20TH CENTURY |
| CONTEMPORARY ERA |
| SITUATION: PLAZA DEL CONDE DE PRIEGO |
The Manolete monument, a sculptural group dedicated to bullfighter Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, is located in the Plaza del Conde de Priego. Created by sculptor Manuel Álvarez Laviada (Trubia 1894 - Madrid, 1958), it was unveiled on May 8, 1956.
Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez, "Manolete", was born on July 4, 1917, in the traditional neighbourhood of Santa Marina. Hailing from a long line of bullfighters, he was named a fully-fledged matador on July 2, 1839, in the Plaza de la Maestranza in Seville. From that moment, the career of this great young hope of bullfighting was unstoppable. He plied his trade in the top Spanish and international bullrings, and was acclaimed by the public in Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. His friends remembered him as a person with a serious demeanour and great gravitas, which won him the undying following of the general public. His idiosyncratic bullfighting style, in which he faced the charging bull side on, earned him standing ovations wherever he went. On August 28, 1947, Manolete was the star attraction in the Linares bullring, together with Gitanillo de Triana and Luís Miguel. To the horror of the packed audience, the second bull of the six he was due to fight, a superbly-built Mihura bull, ran him through, thus ending the life and career of this bullfighting legend. The Bullfighting Museum of Cordoba tells the story of the life and career of this Cordovan bullfighter.
The five best-known bullfighters from Cordoba are affectionally known as ‘Bullfighting Caliphs’: Lagartijo, whose bust in the Plaza Vaca de Alfaro by sculptor Mateo Inurra was unveiled in 2002; Rafael Guerra "Guerrita"; Rafael González "Machaquito"; Manolete, whose bust by Juan Ávalos in 1948 is also on display in the Plaza de la Lagunilla; and Manuel Benítez "El Cordobés".
