Spain's leading woman bullfighter has unexpectedly announced that she is to retire from the sport - at the age of only 27.

One of Cristina Sanchez's aides said the bullfighter was upset that she had not received the recognition she felt she deserved in the notoriously macho world of Spanish bullfighting.

Sanchez herself said she would not make public the full reasons for her decision until later this week.

She was recognised by experts as a fine bullfighter, who brought her own personality to the sport, and helped make it attractive to a wider audience.

Pulling in the crowds

Despite predictions that bullfighting would have no place in a fast modernising Spain, it is as popular now as it has ever been.

Crowds flock to see its young stars, who have become media personalities, appearing in teenage magazines and on television chat shows.

Sanchez was often carried from the bullfighting ring on the shoulders of the fans - the ultimate mark of respect for a battle well fought.

No respect

But her aide said she had not won the acceptance of the people who mattered most to her - her colleagues - nearly all of whom are men. Many refused to appear on the same bill as she did.

Even the aide did not seem fully to accept Sanchez as equal to the men. He said she often had trouble making the kill, and suggested this might be because women were born to give life rather than take it away.

Cristina Sanchez is not the only woman bullfighter in Spain, but she is the best known.