Toronado (Zorro horse)
Encyclopedia
Toronado / Tornado is a horse
ridden by the character Zorro
in several movies and book
s. Toronado is referred to as a black Andalusian
in the movie The Mask of Zorro
, however in filming a Friesian
plays the role. Toronado is said to be very intelligent and very fast. His name is pronounced in the Spanish way, "tor-NAH-do" (except in The Mask of Zorro). Being as jet-black as Zorro's costume enables horse and rider to more easily elude capture at night.
In Isabel Allende
's novel Zorro,
Toronado is given to Don Diego de la Vega upon his return to California, by his milk brother, Bernardo, and Bernardo's wife, Light-in-the-night, who trained it. During Bernardo and Diego's Indian initiation ritual before leaving for Spain, Bernardo notices a black foal tentatively following him while he is alone in the woods. Gradually, he befriends the horse, and names him Toronado (pending the horse's approval). He plans to tame Toronado and give him to Diego, but when he wakes up after three days the horse is gone (only to show up again later). Instead of a gift, he takes it as a sign that the horse is his spirit guide, and plans to "develop the horse's virtues: loyalty, strength, and endurance" (76).
In The Mask of Zorro, when Diego returns to his home after being imprisoned for twenty years he finds that everything, including the original Toronado is gone. (The novelization states that Toronado probably stayed in the area for as long as possible for love of his master before wandering away.) His successor, Alejandro Murrieta, finds himself his own horse which he names Toronado after the first horse. (The novelization suggests that it may be the son of the earlier Toronado.) It is an intelligent animal, but was at first poorly disciplined and seemed to deliberately make life difficult for his would-be master. For example, when Zorro prepared to jump from a building onto his horse's back, Toronado walked a few steps forward so his master fell on the streets when he jumped. In this film's sequel, The Legend of Zorro
, Toronado changes from obeying to disobeying Alejandro at various times, explained in the film as the horse's inability to correctly interpret English commands.
The horse in The Legend of Zorro was actually a Friesian horse
, named Ariaan and was chosen because he wasn't very big. ("Antonio Banderas, who plays Zorro, isn't a very tall man. If he had to ride a big horse he would have looked tiny on the silver screen") . Another horse, the Friesian gelding Tonka, was also used in the movie as a backup. He was used in some galloping scenes and when Ariaan, a stallion, didn't want to cooperate.
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
ridden by the character Zorro
Zorro
Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....
in several movies and book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s. Toronado is referred to as a black Andalusian
Andalusian horse
The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE , is a horse breed developed in the Iberian Peninsula. Its ancestors have been present on the Iberian Peninsula for thousands of years. The Andalusian has been recognized as an individual breed since the 15th century, and its conformation...
in the movie The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the Zorro character created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson...
, however in filming a Friesian
Friesian horse
The Friesian is a horse breed originating in Friesland, Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the ancestors of Friesian horses were in great demand as war...
plays the role. Toronado is said to be very intelligent and very fast. His name is pronounced in the Spanish way, "tor-NAH-do" (except in The Mask of Zorro). Being as jet-black as Zorro's costume enables horse and rider to more easily elude capture at night.
Background
Over the decades and the many stories, there have been several Toronado/Tornados all specific to their Zorros.In Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean writer with American citizenship. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the "magic realist" tradition, is famous for novels such as The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts , which have been commercially successful...
's novel Zorro,
Zorro (novel)
Zorro is a 2005 mock biography and the first origin story of the pulp hero Zorro, written by Chilean author Isabel Allende. It is a prequel to the events of the original Zorro story, Johnston McCulley's 1919 novella The Curse of Capistrano...
Toronado is given to Don Diego de la Vega upon his return to California, by his milk brother, Bernardo, and Bernardo's wife, Light-in-the-night, who trained it. During Bernardo and Diego's Indian initiation ritual before leaving for Spain, Bernardo notices a black foal tentatively following him while he is alone in the woods. Gradually, he befriends the horse, and names him Toronado (pending the horse's approval). He plans to tame Toronado and give him to Diego, but when he wakes up after three days the horse is gone (only to show up again later). Instead of a gift, he takes it as a sign that the horse is his spirit guide, and plans to "develop the horse's virtues: loyalty, strength, and endurance" (76).
In The Mask of Zorro, when Diego returns to his home after being imprisoned for twenty years he finds that everything, including the original Toronado is gone. (The novelization states that Toronado probably stayed in the area for as long as possible for love of his master before wandering away.) His successor, Alejandro Murrieta, finds himself his own horse which he names Toronado after the first horse. (The novelization suggests that it may be the son of the earlier Toronado.) It is an intelligent animal, but was at first poorly disciplined and seemed to deliberately make life difficult for his would-be master. For example, when Zorro prepared to jump from a building onto his horse's back, Toronado walked a few steps forward so his master fell on the streets when he jumped. In this film's sequel, The Legend of Zorro
The Legend of Zorro
The Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to The Mask of Zorro , both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain...
, Toronado changes from obeying to disobeying Alejandro at various times, explained in the film as the horse's inability to correctly interpret English commands.
The horse in The Legend of Zorro was actually a Friesian horse
Friesian horse
The Friesian is a horse breed originating in Friesland, Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, it is believed that the ancestors of Friesian horses were in great demand as war...
, named Ariaan and was chosen because he wasn't very big. ("Antonio Banderas, who plays Zorro, isn't a very tall man. If he had to ride a big horse he would have looked tiny on the silver screen") . Another horse, the Friesian gelding Tonka, was also used in the movie as a backup. He was used in some galloping scenes and when Ariaan, a stallion, didn't want to cooperate.