It’s the revenge of the bull as a matador is seriously gored in Quito

Bleeding heavily and moments from his death, a bull turned on Spanish matador David Fandila Saturday in Quito, goring him and sending him to the hospital. Fandila, or ‘El Fandi’ as he is known, was gored at least three times and was carried from the Plaza Belmonte bullring to a waiting ambulance.

Spanish matador David Fandila is carried from the bull ring in Quito on Saturday shortly after he was gored. Photo credit: El Comercio

Fandila, who was participating in the Fiestas de Quito, is known for teasing the bulls shortly before he kills them. He sits in a chair, taunts the animals, jokes with the spectators, and sometimes plays musical instruments. It was during this routine when the bull made a sudden move directly at Fandila’s chair, knocking him to the dirt and goring him.

Assistants rushed in to help, distracting the bull so the matador could be be carried out the of the ring. Fandila, from Granada, is one of Spain’s most popular bullfighters

The bull was rewarded for his victory with the traditional estocada, the fatal sword thrust between the shoulder blades, delivered by matador Óscar Conrado.

Fandila suffered severe muscle damage as well as an intestinal perforation and is being treated in a Quito hospital. His doctor says he is expected to recover.

The bull fights, which are only allowed in Quito during the Fiestas, have been protested by animal rights activists, several of whom have been arrested outside the bull ring. Protesters criticize bull fights as a “relic of colonialism.”

Fandila taunting the bleeding bull. Photo credit: El Comercio

Fandila in the dirt seconds before he was gored.