Mexican Bull-Fighting Champ Dies

MEXICO CITY - Manolo Martinez, the reigning champion of Mexican bull rings in the 1960s and 1970s, has died while awaiting a kidney transplant, Mexican news media said.

Mr. Martinez, 50, died Friday (Aug. 16) at a hospital in La Jolla, Calif., where he had been treated for hepatitis, the television news program 24 Horas reported.

One of the greatest Mexican matadors of all time, Mr. Martinez was known at the height of his career as "The Chief of the Brave Festival."

In the Plaza Mexico, the world's biggest bull ring, he won 10 bull tails in one afternoon - more than any bullfighter who appeared there. He also held the plaza's records for having the most bull ears and having fought the most bulls.

Bulls gored Mr. Martinez 10 times over his career. A 1974 attack by the bull "Borrachon," or "Drunkard," nearly killed him; he never fully recovered.

He retired in 1982 and became a cattleman, occasionally returning to the ring from 1987 to March 1990.

Mr. Martinez, born in the town of Obispado, Nuevo Leon, was the grand-nephew of Gen. Venustiano Carranza, president during the Mexican Revolution.

He is survived by his wife, Bertha Iberrangointia, a son and three daughters. His son, Manuel, said Mr. Martinez would be buried in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, the official Notimex news agency said.