Born in Nîmes, Léa Vicens, 37, is a bullfighter on horseback (in Spanish, rejoneador) French, among the best of the moment. In 2013, she received the alternative in Nîmes, this moment when the beginner matador is recognized by his people. In 2019, she triumphed in Madrid, becoming the first bullfighter to exit through the front door of the bullring during the feria, a feat she repeated in 2022. She lives in Andalusia, where she trains and trains her horses.
I wouldn’t have come here if…
…if I hadn’t been born in Nîmes, with a high school located 50 meters from the arenas. My father was a aficionado (amateur of bullfights), he took me sometimes. I followed the bullfights on his knees. I don’t remember much except that it was very hot and he had to put something on my head to avoid sunstroke. Later, when I was in high school, bullfighting was fashionable. All the handsome boys in high school went there. I was offered to be a usher in the arenas. I reviewed my baccalaureate in the bleachers and attended all the shows: rock concerts, figure skating or bullfights. One day, a bullfight took my breath away, it clicked.
Why ?
The arenas were full, 15,000 people. I was seized, overwhelmed, by this crowd which reacted in unison to salute the grace of a pass, the movement of the bull, a charge. It was really beautiful. I felt something in my heart, my guts. I was at the very top of the amphitheater in Nîmes. The bullfighter, Paco Ojeda, seemed very small to me downstairs, but I told myself that I would like to be like him. It was an impossible dream, I didn’t think about it anymore.
What did your parents do and what education did they give you?
My father was in the wholesale fruit and vegetable business. He had spent part of his youth in Africa, selling trucks and driving tourists through the desert. He was an adventurer, an independent, even marginal man, infinitely cultivated, endowed with a strong personality. My mother, a literature and history teacher, was gentler, very present and tender. She was there to encourage and console us.
I have an older sister and brother. We traveled in the summer and skied in the winter. I had a happy childhood. My parents taught us respect for others and a taste for effort. Success was not an obligation, but if I was not the best, it was a disappointment, especially for my father. He pushed me to have the niaque. I was always at the top of the class because I couldn’t afford to be in the middle. He was proud of us when we applied ourselves. And we were happy to make our father proud.
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