Rodolfo Gaona
{{Short description|Mexican matador (1888–1975)}}
{{Redirect|El Califa de León|the taqueria|Taquería El Califa de León}}
{{Family name hatnote|Gaona|Jiménez|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Rodolfo Gaona
| image = Rodolfo_Gaona_Jiménez.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Rodolfo Gaona y Jiménez
| birth_date = {{birth date|1888|01|22}}
| birth_place = León, Guanajuato, Mexico
| death_date = {{death date and age|1975|05|20|1888|01|22}}
| death_place = Mexico City, Mexico
| spouse = Carmen Ruiz Moragas (1917-1917)
Enriqueta Gómez Abascal (married 1925)
| nickname = {{hlist|El Indio Grande|La Califa de León}}
| sport = Bullfighting
| rank = Matador
| module2 = {{Infobox bullfighting career
| novillero_date = 1 April 1908
| novillero_place = Puerta de Hierro, Madrid
}}
}}
Rodolfo Gaona y Jiménez (22 January 1888 – 20 May 1975), was a Mexican bullfighter who performed from 1905 until his retirement in 1925, primarily in Madrid. Known as El Indio Grande (The Big Indian) and La Califa de León (The Caliph of León), Gaona was part of the Golden Age of bullfighting in Spain alongside Juan Belmonte and Joselito.{{cite web|url=https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/deportes/73540.html|title=El excelso arte de Rodolfo Gaona|trans-title=The excellent art of Rodolfo Gaona|date=2005-06-28|publisher=El Universal|access-date=2023-10-12|language=es}} He invented the gaonera and pase del centenario moves.
Biography
Gaona was born in León, Guanajuato City, Mexico on 22 January 1888 to a Navarrese father and an Indigenous Mexican mother.{{cite web|url=https://www.granadahoy.com/granada/amante-Alfonso-XIII-caso-Granada_0_1173783084.html|title=La amante de Alfonso XIII se casó en Granada|trans-title=Alfonso XIII's lover got married in Granada|last=Delgado|first=Jose Luis|date=2017-09-18|publisher=Granada Hoy|access-date=2023-09-25|language=es}}{{cite web|url=http://www.escaleradelexito.com/el-indio-grande-rodolfo-gaona-califa-de-leon/|title=El Indio Grande, Rodolfo Gaona. Califa de León|trans-title=The Great Indian, Rodolfo Gaona. Caliph of Leon|publisher=Los Labios del Toreo|access-date=2023-10-12|language=es}} As a young man, Gaona was a tanner and practiced bullfighting with a group of friends at nearby ranches. He joined Saturnino "Ojitos" Frutos' bullfighting group in 1904.{{cite book|title=Amores y desamores toreros: La vida sentimental en el mundo taurino|trans-title=Bullfighting loves and heartbreaks: Sentimental life in the bullfighting world|last=Bentura Remacha|first=Benjamín|year=2004|publisher=Los Sabios del Toreo|url=http://www.escaleradelexito.com/PDFs/libros/Amores_y_Desamores_Toreros.pdf|access-date=2023-10-12|pages=119, 121, 125|language=es}} His first professional bullfighting appearance was at the Toreo de la Condesa on 1 October 1905{{cite web|url=https://suertematadortoros.com/blog/2021/02/15/14638/|title=Un Día Como Hoy Rodolfo Gaona Ejecutó Magistralmente La "Gaonera"|trans-title=On A Day Like Today Rodolfo Gaona Masterfully Executed The "Gaonera"|date=2021-02-15|publisher=suertematadortoros.com|access-date=2023-10-12|language=es}} in Mexico City.
In early 1908, he traveled to Spain with Ojitos, who arranged for him to debut at the Puerta de Hierro in Madrid on 1 April, followed by appearances at the main plaza in Tetuán de las Victorias and the Palacio Vistalegre.{{cite news|title=La terna ideal de la "Edad de Oro"|trans-title=The ideal lineup in the "Golden Age"|author=Juan León|date=1970-08-11|newspaper=El Ruedo|number=1364|access-date=2023-09-25|url=https://bibliotecadigital.jcyl.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?interno=S&path=10061270&posicion=3&presentacion=pagina|language=es}}{{cite web|url=https://altoromexico.com/?acc=noticiad&id=30192|title=Historias: Saturnino Frutos "Ojitos"|trans-title=Stories: Saturnino "Ojitos" Frutos|date=2017-10-25|last=Coello|first=Francisco|publisher=altoromexico.com|access-date=2023-09-25|language=es}} In 1910, he first performed a move that would later be dubbed the gaonera, which included holding the capote behind himself and letting the bull pass through it.{{Wiktionary-inline|Gaonera}}{{cite web|url=https://www.elmundo.es/especiales/2002/05/nacional/bastardo/domingo.html|title=Alfonso XIII, mi padre|trans-title=Alfonso XIII, my father|date=May 2002|publisher=El Mundo|access-date=2023-09-25|language=es}} At a celebration for the 100th anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain in 1921, Gaona invented the pase del centenario, or centennial pass, a variation of the gaonera.{{cite web|url=https://taurologia.com/rodolfo-gaona-y-el-pase-del-centenario/|title=Rodolfo Gaona y el "pase del centenario".|trans-title=Rodolfo Gaona and the "centennial pass."|date=2017-10-29|last=Coello Ugalde|first=José Francisco|publisher=Taurologia.com|access-date=2023-09-25|language=es|archive-date=2023-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603090232/https://taurologia.com/rodolfo-gaona-y-el-pase-del-centenario/|url-status=dead}}
Gaona's divorce from actress Carmen Ruiz Moragas, the mistress of King Alfonso XIII, attracted public ridicule, including allegations of being a cuckold or homosexual. This had a severe effect on his concentration in the ring, particularly when detractors threw things at him. He returned to Mexico in 1920 when bullfighting was again legalized. Gaona retired on 12 April 1925 after a final performance at the Toreo de la Condesa, the same arena where he had made his maiden performance.
Personal life
While in Spain, Gaona briefly dated Paquita Escribano.{{cite web|url=http://www.elperiodicodesaltillo.com/2012/2012%20agosto/rodolfo.html|title=Rodolfo Gaona Jiménez|last=Santos Flores|first=Alberto|date=August 2012|publisher=El Periòdico del Saltillo|access-date=2023-09-25|language=es}} His 1917 marriage and subsequent divorce from Carmen Ruiz Moragas provoked increased discussion about divorce in Spain and inspired the film La malcasada.{{cite web|url=https://elcierredigital.com/cultura-y-ocio/74343835/Carmen-Moragas-amante-Alfonso-XIII.html|title=Carmen Ruiz Moragas: la bella actriz republicana que enamoró a Alfonso XIII y le dio dos hijos bastardos|trans-title=Carmen Ruiz Moragas: the beautiful republican actress who fell in love with Alfonso XIII and gave him two bastard children|last=González|first=David|date=2019-07-07|publisher=El Cierre Digital|access-date=2023-09-25|language=es}} In 1925, he married Enriqueta Gómez Abascal, a Spanish woman with whom he had three children.{{cite magazine|magazine=Mundo gráfico|title=Rodolfo Gaona se casa en Mejico|trans-title=Rodolfo Gaona marries in Mexico|page=7|url=https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/viewer?oid=0002200874&page=7|date=1925-02-25|language=es}} Gaona died on 20 May 1975 in Mexico City.
A street in Granada in the old bullfighters' neighborhood is named in his honor.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaona, Rodolfo}}
Category:People from Guanajuato