Morante de la Puebla's first salary

This Sunday the traditional Charity Bullfight will be held with bulls from Juan Pedro Domecq for Morante de la Puebla, Fernando Adrián and Borja Jiménez .

The Sevillian bullfighter is the protagonist of today's anecdote through a curious story from his childhood:

One afternoon, Antonio Ruiz, father of Juan Antonio Ruiz Espartaco , came home surprised by what he had witnessed in the streets of La Puebla, in Seville, from where he was returning after visiting his friend Rafael Sobrino.

—Juan, do you know what happened to me?

—What, Dad?

—I saw a boy playing bull in the street! What a beautiful sight! I haven't seen him in a long time! I'm impressed.

—But why? Did he fight bulls very well?

—Look, he was a very good bullfighter, yes; but what really impressed me was seeing him there. That boy had something special...

He was so moved by the scene he had seen that, as he drove past the boy, he stopped and gave him some coins.

—Well, Dad, if this boy is lucky one day, he'll be able to say that the first coins he earned bullfighting were given to him by Spartacus's father.

Over time, it was discovered that the boy who received that first salary from Antonio Ruiz was lucky, triumphed, and became one of the greatest bullfighters in history. That boy was José Antonio Morante de la Puebla.

• Anecdote included in the book 'Other 300 Bullfighting Anecdotes' , published by La Esfera de los Libros