Mexican Bullfighter Manolo Guevara, Only 32-Years-Old, Dies Suddenly After Respiratory Arrest

Mexican bullfighter Manolo Guevara reportedly died at the age of 32 due to a respiratory arrest in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Guevara, who began his career as a bullfighter in 2013, was born in the capital of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. In his younger days, he took his first steps as a matador and as a bullfighter, until he decided to become a ringmaster. On Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the age of 32, Guevara suddenly suffered a respiratory arrest and died, Euro Weekly News reported.

Two years ago, in Oct. 2020, Guevara suffered a fracture to his right clavicle and two ribs while fighting at the Cortijo Campo Bravo in San Juan del Río, Queretaro, and underwent surgery at the San Rafael Clinic in Mexico City.

Guevara's body was laid to rest at the Arriaga Funeral Home on Calle Arista 324 in the center of the capital of Hidalgo.

Following the news of Guevara’s sudden death, tributes flooded social media.

“RIP Manolo Guevara. The young 32-year-old matador has died in Pachuca as a result of respiratory arrest. Born in the capital of the state of Hidalgo, in his youth he took his first steps as a matador and as a bullfighter until he decided to become a ringmaster,” one person said.

“The young Mexican bullfighter Manolo Guevara who began his career as a “forcado and rejoneador”, proof of his great hobby, dies in Pachuca at the age of 32 from respiratory failure. Our condolences to the DEP family @portaltaurino,” another person wrote.

In a similar but unrelated incident, six people were confirmed dead and over 200 were injured after a section of a wooden stand collapsed at the venue of a bullfight in EL Espinal, central Colombia on June 26, as previously reported.

More than 300 spectators sought medical treatment from local and public hospitals including an 18-month-old baby who had died from injuries. It is still unclear what caused the stadium stands to collapse. According to Mayor Juan Carlos Tamayo, the stadium had over 800 spectators seated in the stands when it collapsed.

A few months before, Tolima Gov. Jose Ricardo Orozco had asked for the suspension of this year’s bullfighting. However, this fell on deaf ears and the event was held anyway.

Four states in Mexico have already imposed a ban on bullfighting with speculations that the ban could put an end to a 500-year-old tradition not just in Mexico but throughout Spanish-speaking countries around the world.