Skip to main content
history-buffs
El Cordobes matador Cordoba figure in a dark traje de luces at the arena barrier, warm late-afternoon light across the sand and empty tiers behind

El Cordobés: Córdoba's Fifth Caliph Came From Palma del Río

El Cordobés, Manuel Benítez, was a matador born in Palma del Río, not Córdoba city. The city hosted his 1963 alternativa and named him fifth Caliph in 2002.

Portrait of Sophie Marchand
Written by

Art history background with eight years writing interpretive content on Córdoba's Caliphal heritage.

Updated Published
Modern Córdoba1808–today
El Cordobés is the bullfighting name of Manuel Benítez, a matador who took his alternativa in Córdoba in May 1963 from Antonio Bienvenida and left the ring on shoulders after cutting two ears. He was born in Palma del Río, a town in the province rather than the city, yet Córdoba's city council proclaimed him its fifth Caliph in 2002, the honorific the city gives its bullfighting greats, borrowing the name of the medieval Caliphate.
Modern Córdoba1808–today
Córdoba's bullring opens
9 May 1965
Charity corrida he organised, with Montilla and Zurito[7]
First retirement
1971
He returned briefly between 1979 and 1981[9]
Council proclaims him
2002
The only one of the five Caliphs the council proclaimed[10]

In this article

Jump to a section

A novillero from Palma del Río, and the publicity that arrived first

Córdoba keeps a short list of bullfighters it calls Caliphs. The last name on it belongs to a man from Palma del Río, born there in 1936,[1] and his route onto the list ran through four stations: an alternativa, a bullring, a council proclamation and a museum room.
The press got there first. While Benítez was still a novillero, his mentor Rafael Sánchez "El Pipo" was working the media on his behalf, and he was a popular idol before he was a matador.[1] On 28 April 1957 he threw himself into the ring at Las Ventas in Madrid as an espontáneo, a spectator who jumps in uninvited.[2]
That puts him far from Manolete in Córdoba, whose story belongs to Santa Marina and a fatal corrida. Benítez belongs to a provincial town and a publicity machine.

1963: the alternativa Córdoba hosted

The alternativa is the ceremony that promotes a novillero to full matador. Benítez took his in Córdoba, six years after the Madrid leap, from Antonio Bienvenida,[3] so the city witnessed his promotion nearly four decades before it proclaimed him.
The risk was real. On 20 May 1964 the charge of a bull called Impulsivo almost cost him his life.[4] His style was more visual than technical, and the audience it won included bullfighting and magazine enthusiasts alike.[5]
Magazines were the point. Life's Spanish edition put him on its cover, he met John F. Kennedy, and Gerald Ford received him at the White House.[6] Fame of that scale was built outside Córdoba's institutions. The institutions caught up later.

1965: he opens the ring, then keeps leaving it

Two years after his alternativa, Benítez was the host. Córdoba's present bullring opened on 9 May 1965 with a charity corrida for the Spanish Association against Cancer, organised by the matador himself, with José María Montilla and Zurito also taking part.[7] The ring carries the name Los Califas, a title his own career would later join.
By one Córdoba bullfighting history's count, he fought almost a thousand bullfights across different periods of his career.[8] The plural matters.
He retired in 1971, came back briefly between 1979 and 1981, and then announced his definitive retirement.[9] Each return reopened the story that the press had started before he was a matador.

2002: the council makes the idol official

In 2002 Córdoba's city council did what the press and the crowds could not: it institutionally proclaimed him its fifth Caliph, the only one of the five to receive that formal act, and so far the last.[10]
He wore the uniform to mark the title. In the 21st century he still put on his suit of lights in the ring he had opened in 1965, to celebrate being Caliph of Bullfighting.[8]
Belalcázar Castle's granite torre del homenaje, the tallest castle keep in Spain by official listing, rising above the fortress walls in soft morning light

Deep dive · Article

47 Metres Tall and Almost Unknown: Spain's Tallest Keep

Belalcázar Castle's 47 m keep is listed by the Junta de Andalucía as Spain's tallest. How it grew, what to see inside and how to book the free guided visit.

The Museo Taurino now sets him in a room with four earlier Caliphs:[11]
  • Lagartijo
  • Guerrita
  • Machaquito
  • Manolete
  • El Cordobés
Timeline
  1. 1936

    Born in Palma del Río

    A town in Córdoba province, not the city.[1]

  2. 28 April 1957

    Leaps into the ring at Las Ventas

    He enters a Madrid corrida as an espontáneo.[2]

  3. May 1963

    Alternativa in Córdoba

    Antonio Bienvenida promotes him; two ears.[3]

  4. 9 May 1965

    Córdoba's bullring opens

    A charity corrida he organised.[7]

  5. 1971

    First retirement

    A brief return follows in 1979 to 1981.[9]

  6. 2002

    Proclaimed fifth Caliph

    Córdoba city council makes it official.[10]

Mercedes Valverde, director of Córdoba's Municipal Museums, has framed the series by century: the 19th consecrated the first two Caliphs, the 20th the next two, and the 21st the fifth and, for the moment, the last.[12]

In Plaza Maimónides he is one Caliph among five

The Bullfighting Museum of Córdoba occupies a former 16th-century aristocratic mansion in Plaza Maimónides, close to the Cardinal Salazar Hospital.[13]
Its rooms run from bullfighters' suits and old posters to recordings, sculpture and painting,[14] arranged as a history of taurine Córdoba from the Middle Ages to the present.[15] Read the Caliph room as a chronology and Benítez's media-built fame stands out against the earlier four.
Interior patio of the Museo Taurino de Córdoba inside the 16th-century Casa de las Bulas

Explore nearby · Museum

Museo Taurino de Córdoba

Córdoba's bullfighting museum occupies a 16th-century mansion in the Judería. Trace the legacy of five legendary matadors, including Manolete, for just €5.

Palma del Río keeps its own version: a museum to him in his native town since 2015,[16] and in 2023 the Junta de Andalucía granted him the Medalla de Andalucía a la Proyección de Andalucía by decree of 21 February.[17] The town lies outside the old centre's frame, and so does a trip like the Almodóvar Castle tour, a sensible next stop if the museum leaves you wanting the province more than the ring.

Recommended tours

Tours are selected for quality, not commission. We earn a small fee if you book — at no extra cost to you.

Best Seller
Mosque-Cathedral Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Mosque-Cathedral Skip-the-Line Guided Tour

Skip the queue and explore the Mezquita-Cathedral with a knowledgeable local guide. Discover 13 centuries of layered history in one of Spain's most iconic monuments.

Skip the line
1.5 hours

From €29

4.7 (7,461 reviews)

✓ Verified GetYourGuide reviews

Books up weeks ahead in peak season

Reserve Your Spot
Best Seller
Jewish Quarter, Mosque & Alcázar Tour

Jewish Quarter, Mosque & Alcázar Tour

A comprehensive guided tour covering Córdoba's three UNESCO-listed highlights: the Mezquita, the medieval Jewish Quarter, and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos.

3 hours

From €49

4.6 (5,636 reviews)

✓ Verified GetYourGuide reviews

Books up weeks ahead in peak season

Reserve Your Spot
Best Seller
Mosque-Cathedral E-Ticket with Audio Guide

Mosque-Cathedral E-Ticket with Audio Guide

Explore the Mosque-Cathedral at your own pace with a detailed audio guide that brings every arch, mihrab, and chapel to life. Skip the ticket queue with your e-ticket.

Self-guided

From €18.50

Less than a restaurant lunch

4.2 (3,875 reviews)

✓ Verified GetYourGuide reviews

Books up weeks ahead in peak season

Reserve Your Spot
Best Seller
Caballerizas Reales Equestrian Show

Caballerizas Reales Equestrian Show

70 minutes of Andalusian dressage and live flamenco at Córdoba's historic 1570 Royal Stables. Pure Spanish breed horses perform classical techniques — piaffe, passage, garrocha — in a breathtaking vaulted arena.

70 minutes

From €18.50

Less than a restaurant lunch

4.5 (2,979 reviews)

✓ Verified GetYourGuide reviews

Books up weeks ahead in peak season

Reserve Your Spot
The city's own phrase calls him the last Caliph "for the moment".[12] That leaves a question the museum cannot answer: whether the next one will be made by a crowd, a press office or a council.

Frequently asked questions

Who is El Cordobés, the bullfighter?
Manuel Benítez Pérez, a matador born in Palma del Río in 1936 and a popular idol from his novillero days.[1] He was not born in Córdoba city; the city council proclaimed him its fifth Caliph of bullfighting in 2002.[10]

When did El Cordobés become a matador?
In May 1963, when Antonio Bienvenida gave him the alternativa in Córdoba and he left the ring on shoulders after two ears.[3] Six years earlier he had jumped into the ring at Las Ventas as an espontáneo.[2]

Why is El Cordobés called Córdoba's fifth Caliph?
Caliph is a Córdoba title of bullfighting distinction, not a political rank. The city council proclaimed him fifth in 2002,[10] and the Museo Taurino groups him with Lagartijo, Guerrita, Machaquito and Manolete.[11]

Sources

17 references Show
  1. entradastoroscordoba.com (opens in a new tab)

    “He was born in Palma del Río in 1936, and was a popular idol from the time he was a novillero, thanks in part to the well-orchestrated publicity that his mentor Rafael Sánchez “El Pipo” brought him in the media.”

  2. ws040.juntadeandalucia.es (opens in a new tab)

    “El 28 de abril de 1957 se lanzó al ruedo como espontáneo en una corrida que se celebraba en la madrileña plaza de toros de Las Ventas.”

  3. ws040.juntadeandalucia.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Antonio Bienvenida le dio la alternativa en Córdoba en mayo del 63, saliendo a hombros tras cortar dos orejas.”

  4. fresques.ina.fr (opens in a new tab)

    “like on 20 May 1964, when the powerful charge of Impulsivo, the bull, almost cost him his life”

  5. fresques.ina.fr (opens in a new tab)

    “His style, which is more visual than technical, helps him conquer a sizeable audience, including bullfighting and magazine enthusiasts.”

  6. ws040.juntadeandalucia.es (opens in a new tab)

    “El Cordobés fue portada de la edición en español de la revista Life y conoció personalmente a John F. Kennedy y a Gerald Ford, que le recibió en la Casa Blanca.”

  7. andalucia.org (opens in a new tab)

    “It opened on the 9th of May 1965, with a charity bullfight for the Spanish Association against Cancer, organised by the matador Manuel Benítez “El Cordobés” and in which José María Montilla and Zurito took part”

  8. entradastoroscordoba.com (opens in a new tab)

    “After almost a thousand bullfights in different periods of his career, he still wore his bullfighter’s uniform in the 21st century to celebrate his status as “Caliph of Bullfighting” in the Cordovan bullring itself, which he had inaugurated in 1965.”

  9. ws040.juntadeandalucia.es (opens in a new tab)

    “se retiró de los ruedos en 1971, aunque volvió brevemente entre 1979 y 1981, cuando anunció su retirada definitiva”

  10. entradastoroscordoba.com (opens in a new tab)

    “Manuel Benítez Pérez “El Cordobés” is so far the last bullfighting Caliph to be recognised as such and the only one to be institutionally proclaimed as such by the city council in 2002.”

  11. cultura.cordoba.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Otra sala recoge la dimensión histórica de los cinco Califas cordobeses del toreo, Lagartijo, Guerrita, Machaquito, Manolete y El Cordobés, junto a la importancia del caballo en la fiesta, representada por el rejoneador Antonio Cañero.”

  12. priegodigital.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Valverde indicó que el siglo XIX consagró a los dos primeros Califas del toreo, el siglo XX a los otros dos, y el XXI al quinto y por el momento último Califa.”

  13. Turismo de Córdoba (opens in a new tab)

    “The Bullfighting Museum of Cordoba is situated in Plaza Maimonides, very close to the Cardinal Salazar Hospital, and occupies a former 16th century aristocratic mansion.”

  14. Turismo de Córdoba (opens in a new tab)

    “The exhibition includes contemporary photographs, bullfighters’ suits, old posters for bullfights, recordings, bullfighting equipment, sculptures and paintings: all of which brings the fascinating world of bullfighting closer to the visitor.”

  15. cultura.cordoba.es (opens in a new tab)

    “La historia de la Córdoba taurina, desde la Edad Media hasta la actualidad, ocupa un amplio espacio que repara en los distintos aspectos de la vinculación histórica de la ciudad con esta manifestación y las figuras que le ha aportado.”

  16. ws040.juntadeandalucia.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Desde 2015 cuenta con un museo a su figura en su pueblo natal, Palma del Río.”

  17. ws040.juntadeandalucia.es (opens in a new tab)

    “Conceder la Medalla de Andalucía a la Proyección de Andalucía a Don Manuel Benítez ‘El Cordobés’”