Fran Rivera announces his return to the ring: “To celebrate my 50th birthday”

It seemed like September 2, 2017 Frank Rivera He had hung up his cape in Ronda permanently after 25 years of experience and 1,800 bullfights behind him. However, as he recognizes that every day he greatly misses the profession that he inherited from his father, Paquirri’s eldest son has surprised by announcing that he will once again face the bulls to celebrate his 50th birthday in style. with a charity festival. The news was given this same Tuesday, May 7, at the gala dinner that the Querer Foundation organized at the Westing Palace Hotel in Madrid, where other bullfighters such as Finito de Córdoba have also attended, very topical due to the participation of his wife – Arantxa of the Sun – in Survivorso Juan Jose Padilla.

Excited about the new challenge that he plans to tackle in a few months, he told us: “I’m going to announce it shortly, but it will be with friends, all retired, all old rockers. I haven’t played a crutch for six years, and there are others who are worse off than me… But it’s going to be very nice”. However, as Fran advanced, her intention is not to return to wearing the light suit that she, she believes, “is for young, skinny kids,” but rather that she will return to the rings dressed in shorts.

After her surprise announcement, her husband Lourdes Montes has also expressed himself about the intention of another albero colleague, Ortega Canoof facing the bulls again at the age of 70: “It’s wonderful and I’m sure he’s going to face it with great enthusiasm, but It would personally scare me very much. But if the teacher wants it that way, those decisions must be respected.“.

In his case, his decision to confront the Miuras again comes because his son Curro, 5 years old, has never seen him in a square. “I do this to experience this with my son, because he has not seen me bullfighting.”. And that memory, that moment, that photo, taking it to the tentaderos is because I want it to know where it comes from and it has to learn to know the world of the bull, to value it, respect it and know where it comes from. So I want him to live that with me and me with him.” Of course, he is clear that he does not want Curro to follow in his footsteps: “It would be the worst thing that could happen to me. The worst punishment that God would send me,” he said with conviction.

At the moment it seems that his wife has not taken too badly the decision she has made for her 50th birthday – which she celebrated on January 3 -, although Fran has stressed that it will be something very specific because she already prefers to live away from the Miuras. “My friend José María García told me: ‘You have to leave for three years before they kick you out.’. You have to leave with the respect of your teammates and fans. “A bullfighter can never be sad.”. Furthermore, he has ended up insinuating that he no longer has the body for many romps, since he carries the consequences of his profession: “The blows remain and show their face. Everything hurts. I am going to have a very bad old age.” For now, as long as his body holds out, what he wants is to celebrate and return to that passion that he loved since he was a child and that he will never forget.