Jairo, an apprentice bullfighter

[q
url="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/world/americas/19bullfight.html?ex=1211173200&en=bd34059bec181819&ei=5087&excamp=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-1121-L14&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=%20NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-1121-L14"]Child
Matadors Draw Olés in Mexico’s Bullrings

By MARC LACEY


Published: November 19, 2007


 
MÉRIDA, Mexico — Michelito Lagravere Peniche, 9, put his

fingers to his head to create mock horns and charged at Jairo Miguel,

14, who gracefully dodged him on the first pass. But Michelito was an

aggressive bull and he circled back, this time striking his friend

Jairo in the leg. Both boys erupted in laughter.

The first bullfight of the season in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula was
rained out, which is why two of Mexico’s youngest bullfighters,
disappointed to not be confronting real bulls, found themselves playing
in the middle of the Plaza of Mérida after most of the spectators had
gone.


 
They are not allowed to fight professionally in Spain, but
baby-faced bullfighters are the rage throughout Mexico. Even though
some of the school-age children appearing at the country’s scores of
bullrings are not much taller than the bulls they confront, these
mini-matadors have begun getting top billing from promoters, who view
them as a new way to bring people to the arena.


 
It is difficult to know exactly how many of them are fighting
across the country, and no Mexican law limits their age. Regional and
national bullfighting groups consider the bullfighters’ experience when
matching them with the bulls, with the youngest and least experienced
starting with year-old bulls.


 
Still, the children confront very real danger in the ring, and
their fights still end with the traditional killing of the bull. As
their appearances have grown more frequent, so, too, has criticism from
those who say they should find a safer extracurricular activity.

Jairo, an apprentice bullfighter who is following in the footsteps of

his father, knows the danger better than most. A Spaniard who began his

professional career in Mexico at 12, Jairo was gored so seriously on

April 15 in Aguascalientes that he was near death. The bull, named

Hidrocalido and weighing in excess of 900 pounds, pierced his left

lung, coming within an inch of his heart.[/q]