JESSE - 9-10-2006 at 01:15 PM
Sunday September 3, 2006 7:01 PM
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Silverio Perez, one of Mexico's most beloved bullfighters, has died. He was 91.
Perez died Saturday at his ranch in Pentecostes east of Mexico City after suffering from pneumonia, Mexican media reported.
Born June 20, 1915, the legendary matador was considered one of the greatest bullfighters of Mexico's Golden Age of toreros. He started his career in
1931 after a bull killed his brother, the famed Carmelo Perez, during a fight in Spain.
Nicknamed ``The Pharaoh,'' Silverio Perez's enticing, slow style attracted fans from Mexico to Spain. During a fight in 1943, crowd cheers of ``Ole!''
reverberated for blocks from a Mexico City bull ring after he killed ``Tanguito'' in what was considered a supreme performance.
He was ``seductive while carrying out one of the most difficult tasks in the world,'' the Mexican newspaper El Universal said Sunday.
Perez retired from bullfighting in 1953. Mexican songwriter and singer Agustin Lara wrote the song, ``Silverio,'' in the 1960s in his honor.
A statue of Perez waving his cape at a bull adorns one of Mexico City's main avenues.
``He was an extraordinary man,'' Mexican bullfighter Eulalio Lopez said.
Thousands of Mexicans planned to honor Silverio Perez in a ceremony Sunday at the Plaza Mexico, Mexico City's main bullfighting ring. His ashes will
be enshrined at Basilica de la Virgin Guadalupe.
He is survived by several children and grandchildren.
This is not bajarelated but theres a fact that isnt here in this news article that i found interesting, apparently Silverio got into
bullfighting after a bull killed his brother,and retired by killing a bull who was the grandchild of the bull that killed his brother.
He confessed after his retirement that he never liked bullfighting, and that when ever he got into the ring, he was scared to the brink of panic, he
did it all for his brother.
Cypress - 9-10-2006 at 01:22 PM
RIP! Another brave man passes!