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David Fandila Marín (born June 13, 1981), commonly known by his nickname El Fandi, is a Spanish bullfighter.
El Fandi was a member of Spain's national skiing team in his teenage years. He attended the José Antonio Martín Municipal School for Bullfighting in Almería.[1] He started his career as a picador in Santa Fe, near Granada, and debuted as a matador in 2000.
David Fandila Marín was born in Granada, Spain, the son of Trinidad Marín and Juan Fandila, a banderillero. His mother experienced a high-risk pregnancy and was advised to terminate it; she declined and carried the pregnancy to term.[2] “It was a battle between David and Goliath,” Trinidad later recalled, “that’s the reason I named him David.”
David spent his early childhood in the Abazin, the Moorish quarter of Granada, before his parents moved to the Sierra Nevada, where they worked as guards. David and his brother, Juan Álvaro, took up skiing in the mountains, specializing in Alpine Skiing and acrobatic skiing. The brothers joined the Federacion Española de Esquí, where they competed; David won a national title.
When he was four years old, David began to practice bullfighting using papers and rags in Pradollano Square. When he wanted to practice with the banderillas, he stuck forks in the sofa, pretending it was a bull.
‘El Fandi’ appeared for the first time in a Becerra (a bullfight with young bulls), in Armilla (Granada) on September 30, 1995. After a couple of these small bullfights, he made his first appearance as a novillero (bullfighting apprentice) on April 19, 1998, in Santa Fe (Granada).
El Fandi faced many hardships early in his career, having to fight in many difficult bullrings, many of which were close to Madrid. However, thanks to his agents, Antonio Rodriguez and Manolo Martín, he started to become a better bullfighter. In 1999, he was classified as one of the top banderilleros with 60 successful bullfights. Later in that year, he made his introduction to the world of bullfighting in the Monumental de Las Ventas in Madrid, where he cut one ear from his second bull, thus earning his first prize.
El Fandi finished his bullfights successfully in 1999. On October 31, he killed six bulls and cut five ears. Around this time, Emilio Miranda Casas and Santiago López began to represent El Fandi in his career. Emilio Miranda was the well-known and prestigious manager of the bullring in Granada. López was a retired matador, or bullfighter, and an agent to bullfighters with a lot of experience and a good reputation. Both men believed David could be the great bullfighter Granada was waiting for; however, it would be a long road. David needed to improve his fundamentals, and Santiago López worked hard with him.
The year 2000 began with one goal in mind: El Fandi was going to become a matador in la Feria del Corpus (a week-long fair in Granada honouring its city-saint, Corpus Christi). However, just before his alternative (a bullfight in which the junior bullfighter is presented to the crowd as a matador), he suffered a fracture in his right elbow in a bullfighting accident in Murcia. However, despite the fracture, El Fandi decided to fight and become a matador on June 18, 2000, in Granada. Standing as his "godfather" was José Mari Manzanares, while El July stood as the witness. The bull that fought in the ceremony was Elegance, supplied by the García Jiménez Brothers' ranch.[3] That afternoon, while wearing protection on his right arm and fighting mainly with his left, El Fandi cut two ears and became a hero in Granada.
El Fandi was the subject of a documentary film entitled "The Matador," which received critical acclaim for its cinematography, editing, and musical score. The New York Times stated it features "more drama than most blockbusters".[4]
He also ran in the 2008 New York City Marathon.[5]
A cuadrilla is a bullfighter’s entourage. It is made up of the men who help him while in the ring and those who help with his public relations. Currently, these men make up El Fandi’s cuadrilla:
A biographical movie titled The Matador premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2008. The movie is directed by Stephen Higgins and Nina Gilden Seavey.[6]