Dr. Melita M. Garza is an assistant professor at Texas Christian University. A seasoned journalist with expertise in Mexican American and Latino studies, she was an invited panelist and commentator for the City of Fort Worth’s Movies that Matter Latino film series. Participating for the first time in the program in March 2017, Dr. Melita Garza shared her interpretation and thoughts on the movie Ella Es el Matador, or She Is the Matador.
The male matador serves as a manifestation of Spain’s and the world’s traditionally fixed gender occupations. Spain went to the extent of issuing a law in 1908 banning women from entering the sport. The 2009 film, She Is the Matador, relates the story of women who want to become matadors in Spain.
The movie narrates of history of the women that brought about the enactment of the 1908 law. It also tells the story of two women matadors, newcomer Eva Florencia and the celebrated Mari Paz Vega. While these women are trailblazers by default, it was their intense passion for bullfighting that drove them to become matadors.
