From July 6 to 14, Pamplona —, one of the oldest Spanish cities —, hosts festive events dedicated to Saint Fermin (Fiesta of San Fermin), a bishop who lived in the 13th century and once saved Pamplona from a plague epidemic. Being at first purely religious, over time the holiday turned into a colorful folk festival.
Townspeople dressed in Basque national clothes — white trousers and shirts, belted with red scarves, wearing red berets and red scarves around their necks — fill the square in front of the municipality in the morning. At noon on July 6, when a flare is fired from the balcony of the city hall, a magnificent celebration begins.
«Glory to Saint Fermin!» — proclaims advisor in Spanish and Basque. The crowd echoes him. Then those gathered open the bottles of champagne they brought with them and begin to pour a fizzy drink heated in 40-degree heat on each other.
On this day, music concerts and performances, performances by «peñas» (musical groups playing ancient instruments), fireworks and mask parades are held throughout the city; the whole city is filled with fun for several days. There are so many people celebrating that because of overcrowded hotels they have to sleep on the streets.
The next day, on the 7th, a solemn procession takes place with a statue of Saint-Fermin, and a religious mass is celebrated in his honor. Although all festive and religious events are impressive and beautiful, the most impressive spectacle of this holiday is the bull race.
Encierro (from the word «locked») — is the name of the mass bull races that take place every day on the streets of Pamplona during Saint-Fermin. Every day at 6.30 am the townspeople wake up to the music of the orchestras. And at exactly eight, the bulls delivered to the city the day before, who will take part in the evening bullfight, are released from a pen set up in one of the city districts. Once upon a time, this dangerous fun was a simple drive of fighting bulls into a bullring. Today, bulls are simply released from their pens onto narrow streets fenced with special fences, along which they rush into the arena. And in front of them run hundreds of city residents and tourists who decided to test their courage and physical fitness in such a dangerous way, and at the same time increase the adrenaline content in their blood.
Some time before the start, spectators take safe seats on the roofs of houses and entrance canopies, on kiosks and lampposts. Seats on balconies running along the race route cost a lot of money and were sold out in advance. Participants in the race, which anyone can become, dress in white shirts and red headbands around their necks, and hold their only weapon — newspaper in their hands. This newspaper distracts experienced runners from an angry bull targeting their comrades. And when the bull turns to them, their companions do them the same service. At exactly eight in the morning, the gates of the pens are opened using a flare, releasing 600-kilogram bulls, distraught from the noise and flickering of the crowd. The second shot means that all the animals left the pen.
Spanish fighting bull — is not a simple cow or breeding male. This is a special breed, bred over several centuries, with incredible aggressiveness, rushing at any irritating movement. These animals never retreat and always attack, regardless of who they consider to be the enemy. After opening the pen, the bulls see a chaotic crowd in front of them, which leads them into a state of extreme rabies, and with all their huge mass and sharp horns they strive to destroy this stimulus. This is indeed a very dangerous pastime, in which a person has practically nothing to oppose to a bull, and considering that many tourists not only do not know the streets along which they will have to run, but also take part in the race while intoxicated, it becomes clear why not a single encierro is without casualties.
The city authorities repeatedly tried to ban this event, but in 1867, under public pressure, they were forced to make bull racing an official part of the celebration of Saint-Fermin. But to avoid casualties, the following rules for participation in the encierro were adopted and published:
1. Only persons over 18 years of age can participate in the race.
2. Participants' access to the competition ends at 7-30 am.
3. If you are not running, do not block the front fence of the corral (paddock).
4. Do not go beyond police fences and comply with all police requirements.
5. Do not wait for bulls in doorways of houses, on corners or in shops and bars.
6. Do not take part in the race if you are unwell.
7. Don't hold anything when you run. The only exception can be a newspaper.
8. Remember that it is impossible to run the entire distance; the maximum possible distance you can run is 50 meters.
9. Don't stop in front of other runners or cross their path.
10. Do not tease, touch or otherwise attract the attention of bulls.
11. Don't push or push other runners away.
12. If you fall while running, try to protect your head with your hands and lie still until the bulls run. The bull will try to jump over a fixed barrier, not trample it.
13. When you reach the bullring, move to the side as quickly as possible and go beyond the barriers.
14. Don't touch wounded runners — doctors will take care of them.
Unfortunately, even compliance with these rules cannot guarantee the safety of runners. A clear example of this — is 1924, when 13 people were killed by bulls and another 200 were seriously injured. But, despite the cruelty of encierro, every year it attracts more than one hundred thousand tourists to Pamplona, and the number of race participants does not decrease at all. Moreover, even those who suffered once in this race return here again to challenge the bulls and themselves again. The Spaniards call them «afisionado» — sick encierro.
After all the bulls reach the arena, they will be driven into a corral, and in the evening at half past seven these bulls will take part in a bullfight, where they will have to fight professional bullfighters. The bullfight lasts several hours. Folk festivities last until late at night. The next day everything repeats itself, including a bull running competition. And so it is all the days of the holiday.
Citizens — have numerous kiosks with food and goods. After all, the holiday of St. Fermin — is also a traditional fair. Concerts and theatrical performances take place in open areas. There are all kinds of attractions for children and adults. Folklore festivals and sports festivals are held. There are fireworks displays in the evening.
The celebration of Saint-Fermin ends with a solemn mass in the main cathedral of Pamplona and the ancient anthem of a crowd of thousands on the streets of the city on the last day of the holiday:
«Pobre de mi! Pobre de mi!
Que ya se han acabado las fiestas de San Fermin!»
(«Poor me, poor!
The holiday of Saint-Fermin has ended!»).