The death of the bullfighter was the result of a series of fatalities that ended on August 11, in the Manzanares bullring, with the bullfighter being seriously gored by the Granadino bull. His fellow bullfighters, Alfredo Corrochano and Armillita, took it on themselves to finish the bullfight while Sánchez Mejías bled to death in the arena, asking to be transferred to Madrid by ambulance.
José Bergamín, present in the bullring, accompanied him in the ambulance and in his agony. The bullfighter died on the morning of August 13. Lorca, who was traveling with the company La Barraca, was told of the bullfighter’s state of health by telephone. He did not want to go to Madrid, he did not want to see the blood or the agony. He surrendered to fatality, bad omens and admiration for his friend: “Tardará mucho tiempo en nacer, si es que nace [He will take a long time to be born, if he is born,] / un andaluz tan claro, tan rico de aventura. [an Andalusian so clear, so rich in adventure] / Yo canto tu elegancia con palabras que gimen [I sing your elegance with words that grieve] / y recuerdo una brisa por los olivos [and I remember a breeze through the olive trees]”.
