Written by BLANCA Rios Montes• 6 March, 2025• 18:04• Curiosities, José Miguel Arruego

The 19 Women Who Have Taken the Alternative

HomeCuriosities, José Miguel ArruegoThe 19 Women Who Have Taken the Alternative

It is a fact that bullfighting is a male-dominated world, but there are exceptions that prove the rule. Among them are the 19 women who have made history by becoming professional matadors. Here is the list.

Las 19 mujeres que han tomado la alternativa

Women who have taken the alternative

1. Juanita Cruz (Spain)

Alternativa: Fresnillo, Zacatecas (México), 17 de marzo de 1940,
Padrino: Heriberto García
Bull Ranch: Cerro Viejo
Additional Information: The first woman to perform in Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring. She did not wear the traditional taleguilla (bullfighter's trousers) but instead designed her own falda de luces (skirt of lights).

2. Bertha Trujillo (Colombia)

3. Raquel Martínez (México).

4. Maribel Atiénzar (Spain)

Alternativa: Pachuca, Hidalgo (Mexico), 28 November 1981
Padrino: Ernesto San Román
Witness: Raquel Martínez
Bull Ranch: José Garfias
Additional Information: As a novice, she performed six times in Las Ventas and five in Seville, cutting ears in both arenas.

5. María Velásquez ‘Lola de España’ (Spain)

6. Cristina Sánchez (Spain)

Alternativa: Nîmes (France), 25 May 1996
Padrino: Curro Romero
Witness: José Mª Manzanares
Bull Ranch: Alcurrucén
Additional Information: First woman to be carried out on shoulders at Las Ventas (as a novice), the first to take the alternativa in Europe, and the first to confirm her status in Madrid.

7. Mari Paz Vega (Spain)

Alternativa: Cáceres, 29 September 1997
Padrino: Cristina Sánchez
Witness: Antonio Ferrera
Bull Ranch: José Luis Marca
Additional Information: First woman to earn her doctorate in Spain and the first to take the alternativa from another woman.

8. Raquel Sánchez (Spain)

9. Marbella Romero (México)

10. Hilda Tenorio (México)

11. Sandra Moscoso (España)

12. Lupita López (México)

13. Milagros Sánchez (Perú)

14. Karla de los Ángeles (México)

15. Paola San Román (México)

16. Conchi Ríos (España)

Alternativa: Cehegín (Murcia), 9 de junio de 2016
Padrino: Manuel Díaz ‘El Cordobés’
Witness: Antonio Puerta
Bull Ranch: Guadalmena
Other information: First woman to cut two ears on the same animal in the Las Ventas bullring, when she was still a novillera.