Departures of note

Luis Álvarez, born in Tangier on 8 October 1938, was a multifaceted figure in Spanish bullfighting, working as a novillero, empresario, and apoderado. Known on the billboards as Andaluz II, he trained at the school directed by Rafael Ordóñez and appeared as a novice in plazas such as Barcelona, Bilbao, Sevilla, and San Sebastián before his presentation at Las Ventas on 4 September 1960. After leaving the ring, he turned to management and promotion, a field in which he gained recognition for his imagination and innovative ideas. His training in advertising and marketing underpinned a career in bullfighting management and the organization of bullfighting spectacles over several decades. As an apoderado he was linked to the careers of prominent figures including Enrique Ponce, César Rincón, Morenito de Maracay, Antonio Ferrera, Sebastián Castella, and Luis Bolívar, and his relationship with César Rincón was especially significant during the Colombian matador's greatest years. On the business side he was part of the Casa Chopera team, contributing to the management of Las Ventas and directing the plazas of Valencia and La Coruña, and he invented the youth season ticket (abono joven) at Las Ventas in the 1980s. His work extended to several Latin American countries, particularly Venezuela and Colombia, where he maintained a continuous presence organizing and promoting bullfighting fairs.