Running of the Bulls

     Last week I shared a little about my experience at the annual festival of San Fermin.  If you missed it, click on San Fermin, to read the first of this three part series.

     Each morning of the Festival of San Fermin, six bulls and six or seven steers are herded from their holding corrals to the bullring where they will be part of an afternoon and evening bullfight.  It takes approximately three minutes for the bulls to make their way from one place to the other. Of course, this just happens to be down several streets that run through old Pamplona.  The release is at 8:00 a.m. but spectators need to be situated long before the clock marks that hour.

     We were advised to watch the spectacle from inside the bullring. This was a good choice.  The streets are lined with barricades in fact, they are double barricaded. Mostly double split-rail fences. Obtaining a spot to view so close to the street was not for us.  I could just feel the crowd crushing me into those wooden fences. The mass of people was overwhelming. I read that attendance is usually 1,000,000 over the week long celebration.

    Of course, observing from a balcony would be a fabulous spot. We, however, didn't have that option. It was fun after the running to go into the photo shops to see the myriad of photos taken of runners and bulls which had been  shot from the perspective

of those balconies.  This picture is copied from the July 8, 1995 newspaper.



Meanwhile, my friends and I were in the bullring/stadium waiting for the bulls and steers to arrive.  Entertainment was provided before and after the bulls arrival. At least, that is what it was called.

Entertainment before the bulls run through the opening on the right of the picture.

The bulls have arrived.

     This clipping from the newspaper shows several things.  One can see the other end of the opening that is just going into the bullring/stadium.
     It also shows the lack of cultural knowledge so common to young foreign visitors to the festival.  The caption points out two grave mistakes by this obviously foreign runner.  First, he is touching the back of the bull and secondly he is running with a backpack.

      After the bulls arrive at the bullring, they are put away into corrals out of sight.  The area is then filled with runners and the steers. The participants have rolled newspapers to help get the attention of the steers. Everyone seems to be having great fun running and dodging these beasts. However, one spectacle we saw is somewhat related to this photo.  We saw a young man (undoubtedly foreign- maybe the same one) attempt to bulldog a steer. Once he had his arms around those horns, the other participants turned on him with their rolled  newspapers and started assaulting him. It seems that the bull and steers are not to be touched.

      There are numerous dangers involved in the Festival of San Fermin. The bulls themselves are only one.  Cultural traditions must be followed.

      I have a few more pictures of this amazing event in my next post (part 3) and then back to Doc Grisso and that trip to West Virginia.




    

San Fermin

     Recently, I was sorting boxes of old papers, letters, photos, etc.  This is a job that will never be done, but let's not even go into that.
Sometimes these sessions unearth interesting topics to share.  Even though there is more on Doc Grisso to discuss and the discoveries of the genealogy road trip to West Virginia needs to be told, this cartoon is a timely distraction. 

July 6-July 14 is the Festival of San Fermin

also known as

The Running of the Bulls

So.....?

     Coming across this cartoon was a fabulous memory jogger of an extraordinary adventure I had in 1995.  Genealogists are encouraged to write about themselves as well as their ancestors. SO, this is a surprise piece of information for my grandchildren and their descendants. Yes, Grandma went to Pamplona, Navarre, Spain to celebrate with the locals and observe the famous Running of the Bulls.

     Here I am pointing to the flyer advertising the excursion to Pamplona. Notice the shirt on the board. Of course, I have one but it is probably in a box in the shed waiting to be rediscovered.

     Along with a few friends, I attended a school in Madrid for several weeks in July of 1995. The excursion to Pamplona was an added bonus. I have found some old photos and would like to share a few of my impressions from the festival.

     The Festival of San Fermin has been around since the Middle Ages. It is a week long fiesta to honor Navarre's  Patron Saint, San Fermin.  It is said that Ernest Hemingway introduced the world to the Running of the Bulls with his novel The Sun Also Rises.  Even though a large statue of Hemingway stands in the main plaza of the Plaza de Toros, it is a little controversial as to whether bringing all this attention to an originally religious and traditional family event was a positive or not.

     Although overrun with foreigners (including me), I witnessed a family and community celebration.  Everywhere the Pamplonians  were dressed in white shirts, white pants, red sashes, and  red neck-scarves, the traditional garb.  I saw policemen wearing red scarves even though they were in uniform. From the tiniest of babies to the oldest family members, sometimes in wheel chairs, red scarves adorned everyone's necks.  I even saw cute little dogs with bandanas tied around their necks.

  

People everywhere

Cute little dog with neck scarf.