The Running...

Although Pamplona's San Fermin festival has a wide variety of activities, the premier event is the Running of the Bulls (the “Encierro”).    This bizarre tradition involves grown men and women running in front of 6 bulls along a narrow set of streets hoping not to get gored or trampled.  Apparently, it is quite an adrenaline rush...but the appeal is still questionable to us even after seeing it in person.

The final street clean

Spanish tradition says that the origin of this ritual began in the 14^th century.  While transporting cattle to the market, the owners would try to hurry them along using tactics of fear and excitement.  This habit grew more competitive over time and men would attempt to run in front of the bulls without being overtaken by these animals.

The morning Bull Run now draws thousands of men and women who line the streets with hopes of running in front of or alongside of the bulls for even a few seconds.  The narrow streets means that the runners are crammed in quite tightly, causing an added level of risk.

The toro bravo breed of bulls who run are raised and trained specifically for this event and practice running similar courses everyday.  When they arrive in Pamplona, the bulls actually do a trial run late the evening before the official run.  From there, they overnight in the paddock right next to where the official course actually begins.

The Encierro begins with runners singing a benediction three times in front of a statue of Saint Fermin, asking for the Saint’s protection.  Most hold newspapers as they chant which can be used in an emergency to help draw a bull’s attention away from a risky situation.

At 8am, the first rocket is launched to let the runners and spectators know that the bull pen’s gate has been opened.  The second rocket is launched when the bulls are out of the pen.  

The runners, being much slower than the bulls, are given a head start so the first part of the race is just the bulls.  The next few minutes speed by in a flash as the bulls make their way through the streets.  

For the most part, they seem somewhat disinterested in the runners who are running beside and in front of them.   The goring and trampling results mostly from people getting in their way as the bulls continue their run as practiced.  During the two days we watched, only one bull seemed really angry and appeared to bolt out in front of the other bulls and start charging at people, letting them know he was not pleased.

The run ends at the stadium where the bulls run through the arena and then into a pen at the other side.

We watched the race in two ways, the first from a balcony and the second in the Arena where the bulls finish.  

The balcony allowed us to be in the heart of the action.  Our hearts raced as the runners made their way onto the street and you could actually feel their nerves and anticipation permeating through the street as the hugged each other, kissed their religious necklaces and did their final stretches.  You could also see the looks of terror and excitement as they saw the bulls coming around the corner. And then 10 seconds later they were down the street and out of view.

Likely our preferred way to watch the race was in the Arena.  Although we had bought tickets, the ticketmaster booths were broken and so we were forced to buy new tickets that morning.  Luckily, the replacemet tickets were a fraction of the cost at only 3 euros!

The stadium offered a much greater lead-up to the event, with a marching band, hilarious video montages and a very rambunctious crowd, many of whom were still up partying from the night before.  Before the race, each bull was profiled, giving the audience details about their name, weight, age etc.

Being in the Arena allowed us to see the race from start to finish on the big screen.  The Arena floor was full by the time the runners all made it into the stadium and you could feel their exhilaration as they had made it there safely.

After the Bull Run, a couple of young bulls (with horns wrapped) were let out into the ring, allowing people to play matador without real consequence.  This seemed to delight everyone in the Arena and even the bulls seemed to kind of enjoy it, refusing to leave the festivities even when both people and the steers tried to cajole them back into their pens.

So many people willingly getting up at 5am on their vacations for a three-minute bull run.  Motivations, just the like the run itself, can be so strange sometimes.    

More than Running...

Made world-famous by Ernest Hemingway’s book “The Sun Also Rises”, Pamplona’s San Fermin Festival is attended by over 1 million people each year.  Often referred to as the “Running of the Bulls”, this July festival runs for 8 days and hosts a variety of different activities for the whole family.  

The Iruna Cafe, Hemingway's beloved bar

Although this small city of 200,000 people prides itself on being "pretty quiet" for the remainder of the year, Pamplona (Iruna in Basque language) is also the first main city on the pilgrimage route of St. James (Camino de Santiago) thus attracting visitors throughout the year. 

The San Fermin Festival is held in honour of Saint Fermin, the son of a high-ranked Roman who went on to become the city’s first Bishop.  He was beheaded in France and is now considered a martyr in the Catholic Church.  Many believe that Saint Fermin actually met his end by being dragged through the streets with angry bulls running after him, which began the tradition.

The San Fermin festival is actually a merger of two different medieval events.  The first was the secular animal fairs that happened in town at the beginning of the summer.  The second was the religious ceremony honouring Saint Fermin in October.  In the 1500s, a decision was made to move the religious festival to the summer to take advantage of the good weather and thus combine the two events. 

Both children and adults come to the festival decked out in red and white, a tradition that started in the early 1900s.  The red neck scarves that everyone wears symbolize the blood of Saint Fermin when his head was cut off.  The popular sash accessory has less of a story and is more about the look.

To show up in anything but red and white would make you look completely out of place and so we ran around Barcelona before our trip attempting to find some suitable options.  It turns out though that we should have waited. Pamplona's streets were lined with shops and kiosks selling nothing but red and white paraphernalia.   Some stores even selling complete outfits for only 15 euros!

  

Although people of all ages go to the festival, the main group seemed to be those in their early 20s who came for the 24-hour party scene.  Free to walk around town with alcohol at any hour of the day or night, these young adults are often seen straggling home for a sleep and shower as most of the older attendees are making their way into the city at 6am to watch the Bull Run, which starts promptly at 8am.

With the majority of people gathered along Estefata Street or seated in the Arena to watch the Bull Run, the city cleaners work furiously to clean up the beer bottles, garbage and broken glass that has exploded on the city streets overnight.  They also wash down the streets and flood the drains to try and reduce the smell of urine which is surprisingly widespread and strong.  

Amazingly, by about 9;30am, when the children’s parade begins (complete with some giant and slightly creepy marching figurines) there is little evidence left of the previous night’s debauchery.

We decided to stay outside the city’s walls for our stay, mainly because it provided a quiet retreat from the madness of the festival.  And we welcomed it by midnight after the fireworks show ended and the party festivities in the Old Town were just getting started.  The festival’s wild and bustling feel was electric but made it powerfully clear to us that we are not in our 20s anymore…