Antonio's birth has a touch of mythology attached to it.  Nothing like being born  from the  the side of Zeus, but a simple tale as to the beauty and maturity of the baby.

José Antonio Domínguez Bandera was born on August 10, 1960 in Málaga at the clinic Dieciocho de Julio by Caesarian section at 9:00 p.m., weighing in at 4,750 kilos [8 pounds, 13 ounces!].  He was called José, for his father and Antonio, for one of his mother's brothers.  His father, José Domínguez, was unable to be there for the birth of his first son because of his duties as customs inspector.

The doctor that attended the childbirth exclaimed at the beauty of José Antonio.  "He looks like a boy that's two months old, Ana.  You left to give birth, but upon returning, you have a grown boy."

Ana Bandera was entranced with baby José.  "He had some precious eyes.  We were like crazy with him.  And with the second, because we wanted many children, but I didn't have more because I had suffered two Caesareans and a miscarriage.  I was not very well, and we decided not to have any more.  I would have liked to have a daughter, but a new pregnancy could have been dangerous for me."He was not a baby given to crying.   He ate readily, and his attitude was never disobedient nor wicked.  A younger brother, Francisco Javier, but always called Chico, arrived just eighteen months later.

The baby was brought back to the family home, the fourth floor of an old building from the beginning of the century on the street Sebastián Soubirn, in the center of Málaga. According to Extra, the picture (above) is of Antonio's childhood home.

The Street Sebastián Soubirn.

There were eight families that inhabited the apartment building where the Domínguez Bandera family lived.  The families were very close.  The doors were often open and the staircase was a meeting place.  There was no elevator.  A bordello was located across the street, a contrast to the relatively conservative upbringing that the children received.  The boys when older would venture into the street of San Juan, Arriola Square, and the square of Fléix Sáez.  Of note, the location was only a few meters from the birthplace of Picasso.

The Japanese who owned the basketwork shop remembered Ana Bandera as the model mother.  The children did not run around much on the street because she was very "formal".  Her viewpoint was that typical of middle-class family values.  Ana claims her children learned their manners from a certain liberal viewpoint, but "only to a certain point" because there were certain things that were "a little taboo" according to Antonio. Among those taboos was sex, of which it was hardly ever mentioned in Spanish families.   "Such things were not spoken of.  There was not today's experimentation. I believe that in order to speak of sex one must know.  When sometimes-someone like a teacher--requested that he talk about sex in school, I decided no, because he was not prepared for that."  poor Mama! What a shock she would receive later when her son would star in Law of Desire. She would claim that she was too embarrassed to leave the house.  But her love of her son would never falter.

José Antonio wisely didn't tell his mother about a fortuitous encounter that he had with one of the prostitutes from across the street.  He was twelve years old, "One day I saw a lady completely naked in front of the house.  I was in the window, and she went around doing things.   Suddenly she turned, and she was a handsome woman.  I looked at her without an expression on my face, she also looked at me, and when she entered inside, she turned, she smiled, and that was it.  She knew that I was a boy, but rather than scandalize me, she seemed to me very tender.  She didn't parade, but the actions and forms were very natural, very soft.  The results were very tender."

What was he like as a little boy? Ana Bandera: "What's a mother to say! He was ingenious, imaginative. He always liked to tell elaborate stories.  I still have an essay he wrote when he was only eight.  He was describing the summer holiday he had spent at his aunt's house in the village of Carratraca.  He spoke of my sister's home as if it had been a haunted castle." [Tan Sólo un Actor]  

José Antonio grew up in an environment of familial affection, respect, and discipline.  His parents did not fight.  His father was considered more liberal than the mother.  As Ana stated: "My husband has always attempted to give the children more rope."  But when he made a decision, it was accepted as final.  We have educated them so that they are siblings that know they are wanted and help each other," Ana said.  And Eva Cobo, actress and friend of Antonio [the model in Matador that Ángel attempted to rape], recognized that "Antonio has a true adoration for his family as the support and base of all his life and of his career.  He is very family-oriented."

José Antonio's uncle Antonio was a garbage truck driver who took pleasure in rebuilding broken toys he found for his nephews.  Unfortunately, Antonio's first experience with death was the death of this beloved uncle.  He was too young to really understand it, except to know that his mother wore black and that his beloved uncle no longer came to see him.

José Antonio's youth was spent in Malaga with some summer breaks in Carratraca, at an aunt's home. In Carratraca, he was the natural leader of the local boys.  There he'd ascend the mountain range Ermita, and explore a cave called El Ceazo.  At twilight, the Club of five would meet and José Antonio would revel them with horror stories, his favorite being based on a movie about the Knights Templar.

With his mother a teacher, José Antonio had a head start in early learning and was originally a very good student while at primary school.  However, his interests soon led him outside the traditional classroom -- and extracurricular activities in sports (soccer), choir, and dramatics, took their toll on his academic record.  He had dreams of being a soccer player but an injury sidelined that ambition. British Premiere claims he also had aspirations of being a vet and a lawyer. Very early, José Antonio also developed a love of music, originally influenced by his father's love of classical music.  Another youthful interest that followed him into adulthood was a love of the sea, not unusual for one from the seaport of Málaga.

In the school choir with his cousin Maribel, he learned from his teacher, Juan Cruzado Fernandez, the English words to songs from The Sound of Music and West Side Story. José Antonio's first theatrical performance was under the direction of this Juan Cruzado Fernandez.  Mr. Juan initially thought José Antonio was timid.  Although he was only ten years old, José Antonio was a handsome boy, and the girls had already begun to flirt.   "The girls, secretly, requested me, when arranging any assignments, to change their assignment in order to be near him," the professor remembers.  "I told José and he blushed."  José Antonio developed his first crush on a classmate named Marielo.

He was one of the best students in primary school, but as he got older academics did not receive the full focus of his intellect.  He was to fail four courses one year and had to be transferred to a different school, a very religious one.  He became one of the pranksters there, although he claims he took only limited involvement and was not one of the worst behaved.   He was hyperactive, easily distracted, and extremely forgetful as an adolescent.   He was always losing clothes, and his mother reports incidents of him sleeping with his boots on and showing up at school with the trash he was supposed to put out.

His interest in soccer brought him into contact with various socio-economic classes. Antonio was and is capable of making friends with everybody.  His self-confidence and his open character allowed him to mix with desirable people.  But the social status meant nothing to him.   As a teenager, he was a member of Guimbarda, a soccer team made up of boys from all social strata.  Antonio remembered especially the attitude of one secretive but extraordinarily gifted soccer player.  The boy, upon finishing practices, would go alone to a corner and get dressed fast, remote from the eyes of others. José Antonio, a good observer, endeavored to find the reason for such an attitude.  "I discovered that the underpants that that boy wore were the only ones that he had.  They were frayed, full of holes, and he didn't want to show them, he didn't want to appear a victim.   His was a silent pain, a very sensitive and very deep thing, a feeling that I captured and that has later served me in order to interpret a character. The behavior of that boy made me feel much affection for him, and I made sure that he never saw that his secret had been discovered.  That would have hurt us both greatly."

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