Running of the bulls

The bull run in Pamplona

The Running of the Bulls (in Spanish encierro, from the verb encerrar, to lock/shut up, to pen) is a practice that involves running in front of a small group (typically a dozen) of bulls that have been let loose, on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town's streets. The most famous running of the bulls is that of the nine-day festival of Sanfermines in honour of San Fermín in Pamplona, although they are held in towns and villages across Spain, Portugal, and in some cities in Mexico and southern France, during the summer. Unlike bullfights, which are performed by professionals, anyone may participate in an encierro.

The purpose of this event is the transport of the bulls from the off-site corrals where they had spent the night, to the bullring where they would be killed in the evening. Youngsters would jump among them to show off their bravado.

Spanish lore says the true origin began in North-eastern Spain during the early 14th century. While transporting cattle in order to sell at the market, men would attempt to speed the process by hurrying their cattle using tactics of fear and excitement. After years of this practice, the transportation and hurrying began to turn into a competition, as young adults would attempt to race in front of the bulls and make it safely to their pens without being overtaken. When the popularity of this practice increased and was noticed more and more by the expanding population of Spanish cities, a tradition was created and stands to this day.

The event

Pamplona, 7 July 2005. People climb to the fences as the bulls run by and cross the Town Hall Plaza

Before the running of the bulls, a set of wooden or iron barricades is erected to direct the bulls along the route and to block off side streets. There may be a double row of barricades along the route to allow runners to quickly exit in case of danger. The gaps in the barricades are wide enough for a person to slip through, but narrow enough to block a bull.

Pamplona bull run

The Pamplona encierro is the most popular running of the bulls in Spain and is broadcast live by two national television channels. It is the highest profile event of the San Fermin festival, which is held every year from July 7–14.. The first bull running is on July 7, followed by one on each of the following mornings of the festival, beginning every day at 8am. Participants must be 18 years old, run in the same direction as the bulls, not incite the bulls, and not be under the influence of alcohol.

Fence

In Pamplona a double wooden fence is used in those streets where there is enough space for it, while in other parts the buildings of the street act as barriers. It is composed of around three thousand separate pieces and while some parts are left for the duration of the fiesta others are mounted and dismounted every morning.

Preliminaries

Police barrier at the beginning of the running stops people until the first rocket is thrown.

The Pamplona event begins with runners singing three times "A San Fermín pedimos, por ser nuestro patrón, nos guíe en el encierro dándonos su bendición" ("We ask Saint Fermín, as our Patron, to guide us through the encierro and give us his blessing"), a prayer given at a statue of Saint Fermin, patron of the festival and the city, to ask the saint's protection. The singers finish by shouting “Viva San Fermín!, Gora San Fermín!” ("Long live San Fermin", in Spanish and Basque). Runners dress in the traditional clothing of the festival which consists of a white shirt and trousers with a red waistband and neckerchief. In one hand, they hold the day's newspaper rolled to draw the bulls' attention from them if necessary.

The running

Pamplona, 2007. Bulls following some runners enter the bullring, where the event ends. The oxen can be seen in the background of the picture.

A first rocket is set off at 8 a.m. to alert the runners that the corral gate is open. A second rocket signals that all six bulls and six steers (oxen) have been released. The third and fourth rockets are signals that all of the herd has entered the bullring and its corral respectively, marking the end of the event. The average duration between the first rocket and the end of the encierro is around four minutes.

The herd is composed of the six bulls to be fought in the afternoon, six steers that run with the bulls, and three more steers that leave the corral two minutes later. The function of the oxen is to guide the herd and all the days of the festival are the same. The average speed of the herd is 24 km/h (15 mph).

The length of the run is 826 meters (903 yards). It goes through four streets of the old part of the city (Santo Domingo, Town Hall Square, Mercaderes and Estafeta) and a section called Telefónica before entering into the bullring. The fastest part of the route is up Santo Domingo and across the Town Hall Square, but in the past the bulls often became separated at the entrance to Estafeta Street as they slowed down. One or more would slip going into the turn at Estafeta, but, with the use of the new anti-slip surfacing, most of the bulls negotiate the turn onto Estafeta and are often ahead of the steers. This has resulted in a quicker, but not a safer run, as the bulls are usually ahead of the steers as they reach the lane.

Injuries and fatalities

Every year, between 200 and 300 people are injured during the run although most injuries are contusions due to falls and are not serious. Since 1910, 15 people have been killed in Pamplona.

Deaths since 1910 in the bull run of Pamplona

Year	Name	Age	Origin	Standort	Cause of death
1924	Esteban Domeño	22	Navarre, Spain	Telefónica
1927	Santiago Zufía	34	Navarre, Spain	Bullring
1935	Gonzalo Bustinduy	29	San Luis Potosí, Mexico	Bullring	enticed a bull to charge using his jacket
1947	Casimiro Heredia	37	Navarre, Spain	Estafeta
1947	Julián Zabalza	23	Navarre, Spain	Bullring
1961	Vicente Urrizola	32	Navarre, Spain	Santo Domingo
1969	Hilario Pardo	45	Navarre, Spain	Santo Domingo
1974	Juan Ignacio Eraso	18	Navarre, Spain	Telefónica
1975	Gregorio Gorriz	41	Navarre, Spain	Bullring
1977	José Joaquín Esparza	17	Navarre, Spain	Bullring	Suffocated in a pile-up at the entrance to the Bullring.
1980	José Antonio Sánchez	26	Navarre, Spain	Town Hall Square
1980	Vicente Risco	29	Badajoz, Spain	Bullring
1995	Matthew Peter Tassio	22	Illinois, USA	Town Hall Square	Goring
2003	Fermín Etxeberria	63	Navarre, Spain	Mercaderes	Hit by the horn of a bull
2009	Daniel Jimeno Romero	27	Alcalá de Henares, Spain	Telefónica	Goring

Media depictions

The encierro of Pamplona has been depicted many times in literature, television or advertising. The cinema pioneer Louis Lumière filmed the run in 1931. but became known world wide partly due to the descriptions of Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises and Death in the Afternoon.

Other examples

Fire bull and children running from it.

Although the most famous running of the bulls is that of San Fermín, they are held in towns and villages across Spain, Portugal, and in some cities in southern France during the summer. Examples are the bull run of San Sebastián de los Reyes, near Madrid, at the end of August which is the most popular of Spain after Pamplona, the bull run of Cuéllar, considered as the oldest of Spain since there are documents of its existence dating back to 1215, the Highland Capeias of the Raia in Sabugal, Portugal, with horses leading the herd crossing old border passes out of Spain and using the medieval 'Forcåo', or the bull run of Navalcarnero held at night.

Mock bull runs

A variation is the nightly "fire bull" where balls of flammable material are placed on the horns. Currently the bull is often replaced by a runner carrying a frame on which fireworks are placed and dodgers, usually children, run to avoid the sparks.

In 2008 Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard and Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Bourdais performed a version of 'bull running' event in Pamplona, Spain, with the drivers chasing 500 runners at a 800 metre track with Formula 1 race cars.

"Running of the Bulls" in the French Quarter of New Orleans

The Big Easy Rollergirls roller derby team has performed a version of annual bull run in New Orleans since 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The name of the annual Strolling of the Heifers parade taking place in the town of Brattleboro in Southern Vermont was inspired by the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. The event raises awareness for sustainable local agriculture and supports New England family farms.

Opposition

Many animal rights activists oppose the event. PETA activists created the "running of the nudes", a demonstration the day before the beginning of San Fermín in Pamplona. By marching naked, they protested the festival and the following bullfight, arguing the bulls are tortured for entertainment.

The city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, canceled its Sanmiguelada running of the bulls after 2006, citing public disorder associated with the event. After the event was cancelled in San Miguel de Allende, the city of Salvatierra, also in the state of Guanajuato, picked up the event. It is now called La Marquesada and the three-day event is held during the last weekend of the month of September or first weekend of October.

See also

• Bull-leaping
• Spanish-style bullfighting

External links

• Photos, videos and practical information about the running of the bulls in Pamplona
• See the itinerary of the Encierro
• Guide, photos and videos about The Running of The Bulls in Pamplona
• 25 February 2006 - Running of the bulls in Campanar, Valencia
• Official website for the Running of the Bulls in New Orleans, Louisiana
• A video clip from Nat Geo Adventure

Listening

• Here On Earth: Radio Without Borders - Running with the Bulls