Francisco Rivera Ordonez shared the photo on Instagram Monday alongside a post about his family’s long bullfighting legacy and “Carmen’s debut”. In it, he holds his 5-month-old daughter Carmen in one arm while training against a bull.
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Even if Spain celebrates “Take Your Child to Work Day” like we do, people are shocked over a matador’s decision to bring his infant daughter into the bullfighting ring. Rivera himself underwent life-saving surgery just past year after being speared in the stomach during a bullfight.
Ricky Gervais, who the BBC notes is a staunch animal-rights advocate, tweeted: “Mental, risky & cruel”.
The caption reads: “Carmen’s debut” and then, ‘#orgullodesangre’ (proud of blood).
Rivera has responded to these accusations by saying that his daughter “is never going to be safer than she is in my arms”.
He added: “She is the fifth generation of my family to fight”.
The picture sparked outrage in Spain and there has been an official complaint by a child protection agency in the southern region of Andalucia.
A spokesman for the agency said: “We absolutely reject this and will gather information with a view to possibly taking action”.
The sport has been the focus of ever-increasing criticism in Spain, with several regions or cities banning corridas or annual festivals with bullfights and bull running. Combined, they attracted 6 million spectators in a country of 47 million residents, according to ANOET, the national organisation that arranges such events, which said the “bull business” brings in 3.5 billion ($5.86 billion) annually.
Rivera himself comes from a long line of bullfighters.
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Mr Rivera’s father was gored to death in Andalucia in 1984, while his grandfather Antonio Ordonez was considered one of the greatest bullfighters of all time.
