AP Photo Package: Colombia's

by International Herald Tribune

With a hand on his hip and a grimace of concentration on his face, Manolo Jimenez strikes a classic pose as he extends a red cape wrapped around a matador's sword.

The horns rushing toward him are comparatively short and blunt — and the animal weighs a fraction of the 500-kilogram (1,000-pound) bulls that await the 10-year-old boy if he fulfills his dream of performing in one of the world's great rings.

Jimenez is one of about two dozen pupils studying the art of "toreo," or bullfighting, at the Jeronimo Pimentel school founded two years ago by a former Spanish matador near Colombia's highland country.

Starting as young as 7 years old, the aspiring bullfighters practice twice a week at simulated passes to hone their cape work and learn how to lean over a bull's horns to deliver the final, killing blow.

As they progress, the students begin practicing with "novillos," or young bulls that weigh about 150 kilograms (350 pounds). Only the older, more advanced students participate in "novilladas" — a sort of minor leagues for the professional circuit.

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Their goal: to follow in the footsteps of Pimentel graduate Moreno Munoz, who is currently in rings on the prestigious Spain circuit and next year is expected to debut as a full-fledged professional matador.