Matador Alejandro del Hierro was toast of Mexico bullfight fans: Trish Long

Alejandro del Hierro Scores Six Straight Triumphs In Ring; Tutored in Juárez by Old Matador

I recently ran across a very old newspaper article about our grandfather that I'm hoping you can help us locate the original of, as it was fragmented. There is no newspaper name nor date, but it does begin with "El Paso, Tex - [UP.]" so I'm hoping it's from The El Paso Times or Herald-Post.  It's an article profiling him as an up-and-coming matador and as the "toast of Mexico City bullfight fans."  Because it mentions his age, it had to have run in 1933, when he was 20 years old. His name was Alejandro del Hierro and he died in 1996.

‒ Angelica Zubia

Alejandro del Hierro was a well-respected matador and later instructor. He trained Patricia McCormick, the first American woman invited to join Mexico’s Matadors’ Union, and Richard Evans, who was described as the “only Negro bullfighter” in the Nov. 24, 1956, edition of the Indianapolis Recorder in Indianapolis, Illinois. The first mention I found of del Hierro was in the November 1932 Herald Post:

17-year-old matadors to fight five bulls Sunday

Alejandro del Hierro and Rafael Rodriguez, 17-year-old bullfighters, will match their skill and bravery before border fans Sunday afternoon in the Juárez bullring. The show is slated to start a 4 o’clock.

Five high-class fighting bulls, imported from San Diego, Del Monte ranch, will be fought and killed by the young matadors. Each will kill two bulls and the one that displays more brilliance will fight the fifth.

Del Hierro’s and Rodriguez’s entrance into the bullfighting sport reads like a storybook. Four years ago two street urchins found their way into a bullring in Aguascalientes where the greatest Mexican matador, Rodolfo Gaona, was thrilling the crowd. Right there and then, del Hierro and Rodriguez decided that they would be second to Gaonas.

However, they ran into an obstacle in Aguascalientes in the form of their parents, who flatly refused to allow their offspring to tease wild bulls for a pastime. The ambitious lads then decided to run away from home. They landed in Juárez, where Jose Feria, bullring caretaker and former bullfighter himself, took them into the fold. Their first appearance several weeks ago was an instantaneous hit.

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Professionals in Juárez bullfight

When professional bullfighting returned to Juárez after a four-year break, del Hierro was a headliner:

Sept. 29, 1933, Herald Post:

The first professional bullfight since 1929 will be held at the Juárez bulling at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Augustin Mirano and Alejandro del Hierro, Mexico City professional fighters, will handle the cape and sword. Special Spanish black bulls have been imported from Mexico City for the occasion at a cost of 2,000 pesos.

Ex-EP bootblack toast of Mexico bullfight fans

Alejandro del Hierro Scores Six Straight Triumphs In Ring; Tutored in Juarez by Old Matador

The article Zubia asked about specifically ran in newspapers across the country. It originated in the Herald Post on May 19, 1934:

The 20-year-old matador recently has scored six consecutive triumphs in the Mexican capital, according to reports reaching here. A triumph in bullfights means such a smashing hit that the spectators vote to give the matador an ear and the tail of the bull he kills.

Alejandro took up bullfighting less than two years ago. His teacher was Jose (Feria) Rodriguez, an old matador who fought in the days of Gaona, Belmonte and Freg.

Rodriguez organized a troupe of matadors, all of whom were boys. Alejandro is the only one of the troupe who made good.

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“He is the best matador to be developed in Juárez in the 22 years that I have been here,” said Rodriguez. “He soon will be one of the highest paid matadors in the world.”

Alejandro is described as being a graceful worker with the big cape.

His specialty, however, is the “muleta” and sword. The “muleta” is the small red cape which the matador uses to maneuver the bull into position for the sword thrust.

Mexicans class Alejandro now as a “novilleno.” In American it means the same as a minor leaguer. Within six months he will receive his “alternative,” or degree, which will permit him to accept maximum sums. He has not been gored in more than 35 fights.

Alejandro is expected to compete with the best of the Spanish bullfighters who will come to Mexico to face the best of the Mexican Matadors in November.

Lived in El Paso 60 years

The El Paso Times reported on Sept. 18, 1959, that del Hierro became an American citizen. The El Paso Times ran his obituary on Dec. 24, 1996:

Alejandro L. del Hierro, a retired steelworker and a longtime bullfighter, died Sunday (Dec. 22, 1996). He was 82 and had lived in El Paso 60 years.

Survivors include his wife, Irma; his sons, Alejandro del Hierro Jr., Jose Luis del Hierro and Martin del Hierro; and his daughters, Alicia McFadden, Barbara D. Loge, Alejandra del Hierro and Mariana del Hierro.

Burial was at Evergreen Alameda Cemetery.

Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com or 915-546-6179.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Matador Alejandro del Hierro toast of Mexico bullfight fans: Trish Long