The Spaniards did early discover, explore, occupy, and colonizated new land and areas, and in their travels to close and far places they often did bring the Alano Español with them. The result of this is that many of the Molosser breeds around the world can count the Alano as one of their ancestors, like the original Presa Canario & Ca de Bou from the Spanish islands, the Fila da Terceira from the Azores, Fila Brasileiro, Perro Cimarron, Dogo Cubano, Cordoba Fighting Dog & Dogo Argentino from the new continent, as well as influence on the other Molosser breeds around the Mediteranean.
The Alano has always been a working dog in Spain, known under different names like Alano Español, Chato de Presa, Chato Salmantino, Perro de Toro, Perro de Presa Español, Dogo de Burgos, Mastín de Jabalines, Alano de Carnicero and Mastín de Pelo Corto, all depending on where in Spain the dogs lived and which kind of work they was used for. Until 1860 they took part in one of the phases of the bullfight, known as the dogs' turn, that Goya immortalized in his "Tauromaquía".
There are different opinion on either the Alano and the Perro de Toro (Spanish Bulldog) is the same breed, but most people that are involved in the Alano, and the ANCAE (Asociación Nacional de Criadores del Alano Español) regards the Perro de Toro as just a heavier version, a Bulldog type, of the Alano, used in the Bullfights of old times.

The noted Alano Español breeder Javier Parra Gordillo,
with Zimbra at his right and Cain at his left.
Cain is of the Perro de Toro (Bulldog) type.

The 20th century did no good for this old working dog of Spain which began to decline in numbers after Bullfights was outlawed in Spain in 1883. Like many other Molosser breeds that lost in popularity against foreign imported breeds, especially the German Shepherd Dog, the number of Alanos reached a point of nearly extinction. The last pair of Alano Español was exhibited in 1963 in the Retiro Park in Madrid, and soon after the breed was considered to be completely extinct.
The Alano have never been a subject of beauty contests, like many other dogbreeds, but have always been bred with the working qualities in mind. And it was the working qualities that proved to be the reason that saved the breed from going completly extinct, despite the odds.
In the early 1980's a search for survived Alanos was done by enthusiasts of this legendary dog, especially by Carlos Contera, and the whole of Spain was "combed" for survived speciments. The situation proved to be much better for the Alano than ever expected and hoped for.

Headstudy of the beautiful male Taranto de los Cuadrejones.

In the Extremadura and Casstille areas a few Alanos was found, but the real surprice they found in the Encartaciones Valley (Valle de las Encartaciones) in the northern Spain, where a stable population of 300 Alanos still was used to handle a half-wild breed of cows.
The genetics of 22 dogs descended from the Encartaciones Valley were analyzed by the University of Cordoba and the DNA conclution was that these dogs did not have any genetic influence from any known dogbreed in the world, and -maybe even more interesting, they did have an allele in common that identified them as a totally separate breed.
The best speciments of the Encartaciones population was gathered and did serve as the fundation for the re-introduction of the Alanos Español in Spain.

Cartu-ladra.