The Procession of San Fermin and the Running of the Bulls
The Night Before the Running of the Bulls
Well after the Opening Ceremony of the San Fermin Festival comes to a close, the party rages on late into the night. Amongst the narrow meandering alleys of Pamplona are countless bars and clubs with customers spewing out onto the streets, drink in hand. The San Fermin Festival and its internationally famous running of the bulls (el encierro) is a religious event at its core, although the Christian aspects of this holiday have been gradually overshadowed with excessive drinking and partying.
In the early morning of the second day of the festival, the party still rages on. Many of the drunks can be found staggering their way back to their hotels or even collapsing in the park to catch up on some badly needed sleep. As the party goers begin to call it a night, street cleaners and construction workers take to the streets. In large machines, the street cleaners blast the wine-stained cobble streets with jets of water, sobering up any drunks caught in its path. The construction workers take out long pillars of wood to set up for the coming days main event: the running of the bulls.
You can get a quick guide to the running of the bulls here!
Finding the Perfect Spot
At around 4 am on the second day of the festival, street cleaners and workers armed with brooms take to the streets to wash away the alcohol which has been unceasingly poured onto Pamplona’s cobble alleyways. Carpenters and construction workers unload pillars of wood from their trucks to assemble the barricade for the running of the bulls. If you look carefully, you can see the holes in the streets where the barricade will be placed. For the spectator’s safety, two rows of wooden barriers are placed, separating the casual onlookers from the stampeding bulls. Many unknowing festival-goers try to secure their spot along the first barricade, only to be left broken hearted when asked by police to move back to the second fence. The question then arises: where is the best spot to view the running of the bulls?
If you are on the ground level, be sure to stake your claim on La Estafeta Street. Coming down from the town hall, runners and bulls alike come barreling down the steep slippery street only to run smack into a barricade directing the herd down Mercaderes Street. This sharp corner has thus been dubbed “Dead Man’s Curve“, the pinnacle of suspense and danger when it comes to gorging and pile-ups.
The running of the bulls does not start until 8 am, but be sure to secure your spot as soon as possible. People can be seen as early as 4 am scanning the streets, on the lookout for the perfect angle to catch the high adrenalin fun. For those wanting to rent a balcony, you can’t go wrong with Dead Man’s Curve. Other than La Estafeta and Mercaderes Street, other excellent balconies can be found overlooking the slopes on Santo Domingo Street as well.
You can get more information about the best spots to watch the running of the bulls here!
Like a Bull out of Hell
The young men on Santo Domingo Street (the starting line of the running of the bulls), dressed in white shirts and red scarves, shout out to an image of San Fermin, asking for his blessing and protection on the bull run. At 8 am sharp, a rocket is sounded indicating that the participants should start running. Many of the people on the streets are actually walking for the main portion of the course. People do not necessarily have to run with or even see the bulls when participating. The second rocket is then fired, the blast echoing down the tall narrow streets. This second rocket communicates that all the bulls have been released and are now on the streets.
The bullocks are separated into two groups, the first six are the lucky bulls which will be partaking in the evening bullfight. The second group of bulls is known as the “sweepers”, the smaller and slower of steers whose job is to corral any bulls who may have been lagging behind onwards to the bullfighting ring. A third rocket is then shot signifying that all the cattle have entered the ring, then followed by a fourth indicating all bulls are now safely put away in their pen.
The running of the bulls can last as long as 10 minutes to as little as a few seconds. Regardless of how much of the bulls you get to see, it is still the memory of a lifetime. Even if the bulls come whizzing by on the first day, you can always try your luck again the following day. The running of the bulls is held every morning of the San Fermin festival.
For a more in-depth look at the running of the bulls click here or here!
Procession out of Town Hall
Well after the bulls are placed securely in their pens, the festivities around Pamplona do not stop. While the most suspenseful of events may be over, the colorful religious parades are yet to begin. After the crowds disperse to either retire to their hotels to catch up on sleep or to wake up with a fresh cup of coffee, you want to start making your way towards Pamplona’s city hall. On the second day of the festival at 10’oclock in front of the steps of the town hall, various bands of musicians and people dressed in animated costumes mass in the square. Families with young children pose for photos in front of the comical characters and listen to traditional music be played by the groups of musicians. The music welcomes the town mayor, various city officials, a police escort, and other representatives as they emerge from city hall. The parade then commences, trumpets blaring, costumed characters dancing, and official’s marching towards San Lorenzo Church.
You can get a closer look at the Procession of San Fermin here!
The Big Heads
The most eye-catching part of the procession marching towards San Lorenzo is, of course, the colorful wooden masks and puppets paraded down the streets. Originally made in 1860, these characters all have their own respective names and functions. The largest of the figures are the giant Kings and Queens which represent the four parts of the world: Africa, American, Asia, and Europe. The royalty is accompanied by six cabezudos or big heads, along with six kilikis whose job is to protect the kings and queens, and finally the mounted zaldikos. The kilikis and zaldikos are the most mischievous of the bunch, who are known for chasing down children and adults with their rods and smacking them on the head with the foam flail. Most towns in Spain are known for having their own cast of big heads and giants, but the Pamplona entourage is by far the most famous.
You can read more about the giants and the big heads here and here!
San Fermin Takes to the Streets
Many of the people partaking in the San Fermin Festival arrive in Pamplona for nothing more than a booze-filled holiday of clubbing and public intoxication. To be in Pamplona without paying respect to San Fermin himself is truly a trip in vain. At 10:30 the parade stops at the gates of San Lorezo Church, awaiting the wooden statue of San Fermin himself to emerge on the shoulders of pallbearers. The effigy of San Fermin and is then taken to the streets until 11:50, but the parade itself can go as long as four and a half hours with many significant stops on the way. Each of the different stations of the procession are marked with traditional Navarran songs, musical concerts, and cultural performances. The procession of San Fermin echos traditions centuries of years old. For many European nations modernization and secularism has driven many traditional religious events to extinction. Spain is one of the few places on the continent where you can see the nation’s culture truly come to life.
You can get a detailed itinerary of the procession of San Fermin here!
On to the Bullfighting Arena
Even as many of the scheduled events draw to a close, bands of musicians can still be found flooding the streets with loud music, extravagant costumes, large banners, and outlandish behavior. Other than the running of the bulls, the actual bullfights come in close second for their heart pumping adrenaline filled fun. What many may not know about the sometimes called “inhumane” bullfights is that the profits from ticket sales all go to a charity chosen by Casa de Misericordia. Knowing that your money is going to a good cause may help put some unsure spectator’s minds at ease. Even with knowing that the sales are going to charity, for many it is still not enough to pay the whopping 55 dollar fee for nosebleed seats. In the end, the most important thing to consider is that once your Spanish adventure comes to a close and you are home reminiscing about your holiday in Pamplona, will you regret not seeing the bullfight?
Pamplona’s bullfights and the running of the bulls are well known to people from all corners of the globe. The events of San Fermin are sure to be at the top of most people’s bucket list and the fondest of all their memories from traveling in Spain. When in Pamplona be sure to put down the sangria every once in a while and partake in the magical side of the San Fermin Festival.
For more information on bullfighting click here, for tickets you can click here!
