Bullfighting, Tomas Campuzano and Spanish classes in Bilbao

Study Spanish in Bilbao and never miss out on our free cultural activities.

We are the only Spanish school in Bilbao with almost 20 years of experience and our philosophy is to teach Spanish in a compact, integral way.

Tomorrow Wednesday 5th April will be extra special, we are going to take our students to a book presentation of a new, highly anticipated piece of work on bullfighting. The writer will talk to us about his story, and the speech will also be accompanied by a photo exhibition about the topic.

Thursday will be no less special. No other than the famous retired bullfighter Tomas Campuzano will be visiting Bilbao. Even though he was born in Écija, at less than a year old his family moved to Gerena, in the province of Seville, where his parents José Rodríguez Campuzano and Araceli Pérez began working in the Retamar estate of Coladas, property of Enrique Beca, the uncle of bullfighter Juan Carlos Beca Belmonte. Being in proximity with so many fine cattle and bulls is said to have provoked his love of bullfighting.

He was seen for the fist time in the suit of lights (bullfighter costume) in the region of El Bosque, in the province of Cadiz on 13th June 1974. His debut as a picador took place in his local region of Écija in March 1975. He then went on to feature in the most famous bullrings in Spain such as Las Ventas in Madrid and La Real Maestranza de Caballería in Sevilla.

His most prolific period as a bullfighter came between 1984 and 1990. In 1984 he managed 67 runs, making him second in the leader board. In 1985 he participated in 75 separate festivities, including celebrations in the American Squares of Colombia and Venezuela. He retired on 17th October 1999, after participating in the St Lucas de Jaén festival. From then on he reappeared briefly, mostly in certain bull festvals. Nowadays he is collaborator with various bull schools and is in charge of young matadors.

Make sure not to miss out by coming with us on these two fascinating trips!