José Gómez Ortega

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Gómez and the second or maternal family name is Ortega.

José Gómez Ortega (8 May 1895 — 16 May 1920), commonly known as Joselito (Spanish pronunciation: [xoseˈlito]), was a Spanish matador in the early twentieth century.

Joselito was considered a child prodigy and was the youngest bullfighter to receive the title of matador de toros, at the age of 17. Joselito followed in arch-rival Juan Belmonte's footsteps and the two ushered in bullfighting's "Golden Age". Joselito was fatally gored in the ring at the age of 25 during a competitive bullfight with his brother-in-law, the matador Ignacio Sánchez Mejías.

Belmonte and Gómez are widely considered to be the most famous bullfighters of all time. Upon his death, the Virgin of Hope of Macarena was famously dressed in an entirely-black ensemble to acknowledge the public's heavy grief; to date, this tribute has never been repeated in Spanish history.

Biography

Early life

José Gómez Ortega was born on 8 May 1895 in Huerta de El Algarrobo, Gelves (Andalusia, Spain) to Fernando Gómez García (1847 — 1897), a bullfighter, and Gabriela Ortega Feria (1862 — 1919), a flamenco singer.

Joselito was a third-generation bullfighter. His father Fernando Gómez García, known as El Gallo (The Rooster) - Joselito's previous nickname, Gallito, was a diminutive form of this nickname; His elder brother Rafael Gómez Ortega, was also a bullfighter known as El Gallo.

Family of José Gómez Ortega
Antonio Gómez                             Fernando Gómez García                                   Francisca García                             José Gómez Ortega                                         Enrique Ortega Díaz                             Gabriela Ortega Feria                                   Carlota Feria Ruiz