Which real-life bullfighter inspired the character Pedro Romero in 'The Sun Also Rises'?

Cayetano Ordóñez inspired the character Pedro Romero in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway based the young matador on the celebrated Spanish bullfighter from Ronda, who performed under the name Niño de la Palma.

Ordóñez’s skill and composure in the bullring impressed Hemingway during the author’s travels in Spain. The fictional Romero reflects that admiration: he is young, technically gifted, disciplined, and presented as an idealized figure within the novel’s turbulent world.

The character’s name creates a possible mix-up. Pedro Romero was also the name of a real 18th-century Spanish bullfighter from Ronda, and Hemingway used that historical name for his fictional matador. However, the contemporary bullfighter who served as the principal model was Cayetano Ordóñez, not his son Antonio Ordóñez.

The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926 and draws heavily on Hemingway’s experiences among expatriates, Spanish festivals, and bullfighting culture.