José Rivera Pérez 'Riverita' died this Friday, January 22 at dawn at the Hospital of Cádiz after a tough battle against cancer.
Riverita was born in Barbate (Cádiz) on February 24, 1947
.
His father, Antonio Rivera, had frequented bullfighting circles and had been employed as a janitor at the slaughterhouse, so from very early on he harbored the illusion that one of his sons was a bullfighter.
So much so that he set up a small square for his children in Barbate.
As has happened so many times in the history of bullfighting, it is the oldest who seems most gifted, in this case 'Riverita' but it was finally Paco (Paquirri) who managed to reach the top of bullfighting until his tragic death in 1984.
Riverita had a great time as a bullfighter, especially in the 1965 and 1966 seasons in which he fought 37 and 32 bullfights respectively.
He came out on the shoulders of Madrid and Seville as a bullfighter.
A year later, on September 1, 1967, he
took the alternative in El Puerto de Santa María
with bulls from Concha y Sierra with Miguelín as godfather and with Diego Puerta as witness.
He shared some posters, also as a bullfighter, with his brother Paquirri.
He popularized a new luck, fighting with two crutches at the same time
, one in each hand.
Paquirri helped him as much as he could
: in the 1980 Charity run, presided over by the King, where he fought six bulls, he imposed Riverita as outstanding.
He was disappearing from the posters until his last walk in Las Ventas in the early 1980s with a bullfight by Hernández Pla with José Luis Galloso and Curro Vázquez.
He briefly reappeared when Paquirri died, cutting his ponytail in 1986.
Riverita has always been very loved by her countrymen.
Kind and generous in character
.
It is said that at his home he has sometimes taken in needy people.
In his spare time he used to write verses and reflections on bulls and life.
Those who knew him best enjoyed his natural grace, his irony and his witty witticisms.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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