Pamplona / The Running of the Bulls

We just returned from a CRAZY weekend in Pamplona from The Running of the Bulls. This festival is also known as San Fermin, because Saint Fermin is the Patron Saint of Pamplona. Therefore, for 7 straight days and nights, the Pamplonans dance, drink, party, drink, wear white with red sashes and scarfs, drink, celebrate, and drink more.

Yesterday morning, we arrived at the bull ring around 7:10. There were so many people there pushing and shoving to buy tickets to what´s called "El Enciero", or when the bulls enter the bull ring (Plaza de Toros) after running through the streets. (This totally reminded me of being pushed and shoved in Mexico City on the metro.) It was complete chaos, and we finally got tickets and were able to sit down in the nosebleed seats about 15 minutes before the bulls entered the ring. People had been drinking and partying the whole night, so the atmosphere was nuts! There were people doing the wave, throwing bottles and jackets into the bull ring, singing, cursing ("hijo de puta..."), etc.

Around 8:03, finally we saw the first people run into the ring. The crowd errupted into cheers as more and more men (and a few women) made their way into The Plaza de Toros. A few moments later, the bulls entered and rang straight through to the other side. Then, more men and more bulls entered the ring as the crowd cheered louder and sang some song about a bull. (They also sang the famous soccer song "Olé, olé, olé...") By this time, there were several hundred people in the ring, and they were celebrating and cheering loudly.

The next thing we knew, the officials opened the gate to allow one of the bulls to return into the ring. The people inside the ring lined up by the gate, and several of them got down on their hands and knees right by the gate so that the bull would jump over them. The crowd went nuts again, and the bull started charging the people inside the ring right away. I have to admit that it was really scary and exciting to see the bull hit/gore the people inside the ring, and luckily, no one was seriously injured inside of the ring. However, Mary Beth has just told me that an Austrailain died from his injuries yesterday. If the bull knocked someone down, most of the time, that person laid in the fetal position with his/her hands protecting his/her head. Also, it´s considered in bad taste if the people taunt the bull by pulling on his tail, hitting him, grabbing his horns, etc. The crowd jeered these people with whistles and chants of "hijo de puta" (son of a bitch). In fact, this morning, someone was arrested for being too tough on the bull! (I didn´t get up to go this morning, but that´s what other people in my group said.) After a few minutes, there is a herding bull that rounds up the charging bull, and they leave the ring.

The whole spectacle is repeated 4 or 5 times, and the whole experience inside the bull ring lasts about 1 hour. However, the actual running of the bulls on the streets last a mere 3 minutes. We walked the route that the bulls take later on in the day, and I´ll post pictures of that too.