Colmenar: Yiyo and His Legacy, 40 Years On

Yiyo has always been a source of remembrance and homage in Colmenar. In 2025, the memory of this young matador resonates even more deeply, as it marks the 40th anniversary of his passing. Veteran aficionados recall him vividly, acknowledging the true value and stature he brought to the art of bullfighting. But who really was Yiyo?

José Cubero Sánchez, known to the bullfighting world as El Yiyo, was born by chance in Bordeaux, though he grew up in the Madrid neighbourhood of Canillejas. He became the first major figure to emerge from the Madrid bullfighting school, and more than that, he was an icon and reference point for his contemporaries and the generations that followed.

His style of bullfighting was distinctly “madrileño”: traditional, authentic and robust, in the line of great matadors who came before him and from whom he drew inspiration, such as Antoñete, Ángel Teruel —his padrino at his alternativa in Burgos— and Curro Vázquez. In turn, he left his mark on others, including José Miguel Arroyo “Joselito”, who trained by his side.

Yiyo was ahead of his time: a classical bullfighter, intuitive above all, and precocious. From a very young age, he showed a natural understanding with the animals he faced. His career advanced at a meteoric pace, moving rapidly through each stage until he took his alternativa in 1981, at just 17 years old.

By 1983, only two years later, he had become a sensation at Madrid’s San Isidro Fair, triumphing at the age of 19. Beyond being a matador of Madrid, he was adored in the south-west of France —particularly in Dax and Mont-de-Marsan— and celebrated in other major bullrings such as Pamplona. With this reputation, he arrived in Colmenar Viejo on 30 August 1985 to replace Curro Romero.

Those who were present say that afternoon he performed the best faena of his life against “Burlero”, a bull from Marcos Núñez. That fight brought him immortality, an unforgettable masterpiece that secured his place in the annals of bullfighting. It was his final lesson, given forty years ago in this town near Madrid.

Since then, Colmenar has taken special care to preserve the memory of the young matador from Canillejas, who died at just 21 years of age. His legacy has been kept alive for future generations. Each year, during the Feria de Los Remedios, the town pays continuous tribute to that quintessentially Madrid-born, “cheli” bullfighter who gave his life in the ring and achieved eternal glory.