May 22, 2010 - Julio Aparicio, one of Spain's most famous matadors, was gored in the throat today during a bullfight. The horrific injury has left him in critical condition: "[The horn] went though the tongue and penetrated the roof of the mouth, fracturing the jawbone," one of the medics who worked on Aparicio told AFP news in Madrid. The incident took place during the Festival of Saint Isidro, considered to be the most important event in the bullfighting calendar, at the Plaza de Toros las Ventas bullring, which can seat up to 24,000 people. [UPDATE: After two operations, it appears leading surgeon Maximo Garcia Pedros has saved Aparicio's life. The bull, however, was quickly killed by other matadors.] From The New York Times: Mess with the bull, you get the horn! A day after dashing Spanish bullfighter Julio Aparicio showed his dominance by cutting the ears off two vanquished bulls, one of their bovine brothers got revenge yesterday by gruesomely impaling the matador through his throat and out his mouth. As Aparicio held his red cape and sword out to face down the 1,100-pound beast named Opiparo at the Feria de San Isidor bullfighting event in Las Ventanas, Spain, the bullfighter lost his footing and the bull was able to strike. "[The horn] went though the tongue and penetrated the roof of the mouth, fracturing the jawbone," one of the medics who worked on Aparicio told AFP news in Madrid. The Seville native, a member of a well-known family of matadors, was in grave condition last night but expected to survive. The sickening goring happened as Aparicio was going in for the faena, a series of passes in which he uses his cape and sword before delivering the wounded animal the death blow, or estocada. As Aparicio teased the angry bull with his cape to entertain the fans, it was the bull who delivered the finishing move as the experienced matador fell to his rear end. The bull thrust its horn into the matador's throat then drew it back a moment later, yanking it out of the man's mouth. Aparicio was able to briefly stand before being overcome by the wound and falling as assistants rushed into the bloody, dusty ring and drew Opiparo away. It was not clear what happened to the bull. Aparicio was rushed to a medical facility located in the stadium and stabilized. An initial scan showed skull damage, and he also had a tracheotomy, according to Spanish news sources. "We don't have a reason to fear for his life, although he will have a very slow recuperation," Dr. Maximo Garcia Padros told El Pais newspaper.