Mario was born in 1933 in Seville, Spain, where, inspired and helped by his uncle and cousins of the famous Martín-Vázquez family of bullfighters, he learned the techniques of how to fight a bull, which enabled him to display his innate artistic ability in bullfighting in the rings of Spain, France, and Portugal, as well as in several countries in Latin America during the decade of the 50's.
After 3 years of performing in small towns to hone his skills, he made his debut as a novillero in Tangiers in July of 1952, and made his formal and very successful debut in Madrid in September of the same year. He was awarded the ears on both bulls for his excellent performance (faena), and exited the arena by the Puerta Grande. This success opened the doors of the most important bullrings in Spain, where he performed as a novillero for three years until May 31, 1955 when he received his alternativa de matador, the bullfighter's doctorate, in Cáceres.
For five more years Mario continued his bullfighting career as a matador. He paid a heavy price in physical punishment, for his success, being seriously gored twelve times. Until December, 1959 Mario's career as a bullfighter was not very different from those of the majority of the bullfighters, but his decision to cut short his matador's life prematurely, and to move to the United States has made his experience rather unique. In 1958, while performing in Ecuador, Mario met Sally Norton, an American girl, whom he married one year later. In November of the following year their son was born in Cali, Colombia. Then, he surprised his family with the news that he was retiring from bullfighting.
The retired bullfighter and his family moved to Baltimore where he pursued an academic degree at the University of Maryland. Mario became a teacher, and for thirty years he taught Spanish in Baltimore County, while working part-time at several colleges. He thought he had left his background behind, but an article in the Baltimore Sun made public the fact that a bullfighter had become a teacher. Interviews, appearances on television programs, requests for presentations at universities and clubs, and articles about bullfighting followed. The teacher-matador became a curiosity to a public interested in learning about a subject that was little known (and highly condemned) in America. So, by a mere coincidence the matador found an outlet combining his never-forgotten bullfighting skills with his teaching skills.
Mario, on his periodic trips to Spain, keeps in touch with the bullfighting world, and lately, after more than 30 years of being away from the horns, he has performed just for pleasure with small bulls in Mexico and in California. Some of his writings about bullfighting have appeared in COLOQUIO, the magazine of the HISPANIC PAGES IN THE USA, of which he is the editor.
If you are interested in presentations, seminars, or articles about bullfighting contact mcarrion@erols.com for further information.
Hispanic Pages in the USA
