'The Statue' Makes His Comeback Against His Legend

Today's WSJ included a story about a man they call 'The Statue." He's Jose Tomas, Spain's most famous and legendary modern bullfighter, and this Sunday he has all of the nation's eyes upon him. Though the sport is having a tough time, Tomas might be its second coming.

In a story by Keith Johnson, I learned that Barcelona is the seat of the most vocal opposition to the cruel sport of bullfighting in Spain. The man, the legend, also known as 'the second coming,' in bull fighting fandom, is coming back to the sport after a five year hiatus.

All of the nagging bullfight promoters and a fear of dying in the ring made him quit in 2002. He just up and quit and did not even answer his cellphone. Like Elvis, there were sightings. He ended up playing semipro soccer and bummed around, and his absence "left a big empty crater in bullfighting," said Paco Aguado, a bullfight historian.

By returning to the city where the most bullfighting opponents live, he's 'poking the eye of the antibullfighting crowd' even though this is the place where more fights have taken place than any other city in Spain. Only one of three rings still stand, one was turned into a shopping center.

The Torero faces not only the bull, said the story, but his old repuation as the best in the ring. "His only true rival, and by far the most dangerous, is the old Jose Tomas," said a fan.