# Montoya — The Sun Also Rises character guide

> Montoya in The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Juanito Montoya, afición Montoya, old Montoya

**First appearance:** 0013-ix

## Snapshot

Pamplona hotelkeeper whose reverence for bullfighting turns a commercial transaction into a test of character for every guest who asks for his help.

## Who they are

Montoya runs the hotel in Pamplona where Jake's circle stays for the fiesta, and his real authority comes from his afición — a deep, almost religious devotion to bullfighting that he shares only with those he deems worthy. He prizes the young matador Pedro Romero above all others, and his protective loyalty to the boy becomes a quiet measure of who among the drinkers and tourists actually understands the corrida. His approval, or its absence, shapes how the fiesta chapters read: he is the moral barometer of a city that takes its rituals seriously.

## In the story

### [Arrival in Pamplona](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se/chapters/x)

Welcomes the group to his hotel and provides them with rooms overlooking the square.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se/chapters/xiii)

Hotel owner; discusses afición and the quality of the bulls with Jake.

### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se/chapters/xvi)

Hotel owner; seeks Jake's advice on whether to give Romero a message from the American ambassador, wanting to protect him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se/characters/montoya
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_sun_also_rises_se/characters