The Tradition
History of the Corrida Goyesca of Ronda, from its first edition in 1954 to the present day.
- 1954
- First Corrida Goyesca
- 67
- Editions
- 17
- Goyescas of Antonio Ordóñez
The bicentenary of Pedro Romero
The first Corrida Goyesca was held in 1954 to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Pedro Romero. It was promoted by Cayetano Ordóñez Araújo, son of the Niño de la Palma, and that year’s poster announced Pedro Romero as the “creator of bullfighting on foot”.
It was conceived as a corrida with bulls from several breeders and was fought by Antonio Bienvenida, César Girón and Cayetano Ordóñez himself, then billed as Niño de la Palma hijo.
The Maestro of Ronda
No Goyesca was held in 1955 or 1956. The event resumed in 1957 with Antonio Ordóñez on the bill; he fought it seventeen times and organised it until the very year of his death.
His charisma drew aficionados from across the bullfighting world and made the Ronda afternoon a prized date for bullfighters. As a promoter he kept one unchanging principle: outstanding line-ups for a special day.
The Ordóñez and the Rivera
In 1973 the Goyesca brought together the Ordóñez and the Rivera families: Paquirri wore the Goyesque costume for the first time and shared the bill with the Maestro of Ronda and El Niño de la Capea. Seven years later, Antonio Ordóñez and Paquirri fought a mano a mano.
Ordóñez fought his last Goyesca in 1980 and remained at the head of the organisation. In 1998, already gravely ill, he attended his last afternoon and received the dedication of José Tomás. The following year his grandson dedicated a bull to his memory.
Francisco Rivera Ordóñez
The Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda, owner of the bullring, entrusted the organisation to the heir of the dynasty. Francisco Rivera Ordóñez, son of Paquirri and grandson of Antonio Ordóñez, had fought his first Goyesca in 1995, the year of his alternativa.
He organised his first Goyesca in 1999, alongside Espartaco and José Tomás, and has upheld the family tradition ever since: outstanding line-ups and the commitment to give one’s best in the ring.
The Goyesque costume
Short jacket, breeches, stockings and hairnet: the dress of eighteenth-century bullfighting, as Francisco de Goya y Lucientes recorded it in the thirty-three prints of his Tauromaquia. The corrida takes its name from it.
It is an event staged with the décor, dress and ceremony of Goya’s time: bullfighters and cuadrillas dress in period costume, and the public attends the bullring in Goyesque dress.