Michelito, the child bullfighter

Nation & World News

Michelito, the child bullfighter

Michel Lagravere, aka "Michelito" is a sensation in bullfighting circles, and at age 12, one of the youngest toreadors in the world.

A pint-sized bullfighting phenom from Mexico, Michelito Lagravere is age 12 and has seven years of experience already under his belt.

Michelito may be only 12 but he knows perfectly well when to signal the band to strike up some proud, brassy bullfight music at a bullring in Jalisco state, Mexico.

Michel Lagravere, 48, gives his 12-year-old son advice before his turn comes to face a charging bull. Known professionally simply as "Michelito," the seventh-grader is the latest of a breed of ever-younger extreme athletes.

Diana Peniche, Michelito's mom, waves from the stands. At the tender age of 12, her son Michel Lagravere is a sensation in bullfighting circles, the youngest toreador in the world.

Before the bullfight begins, a picador checks out his lances. A picador enters on horseback at the second phase of a bullfight and uses the lance to weaken the bull before the matador comes in for the kill.

The world's littlest bullfighter, Michelito Lagravere, is a full head shorter than any of the others who will be in the ring.

In the middle of the ring, Michelito conducts pass after pass, tiring the bull out.

Who knows which way the bull will charge? Michelito faces a tense moment during the showdown.

Aficionados wait in line outside the bullring in San Miguel El Alto, a ranching town in Mexico's Jalisco state.

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A pint-sized bullfighting phenom from Mexico, Michelito Lagravere is age 12 and has seven years of experience already under his belt.

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