Festivals in the World

Spain: Pamplona Bull Run & La Tomatina

Christian Pedro Calero Mateo (Faculty of Letters, 3rd Year)

  Spain is famous for its wild festivals, which captures the culture and essence of the Spanish people. The most famous and dangerous festival is probably the Pamplona Bull Run. It is held every morning from 8am between July 7th to the 14th.
  It stretches from the corral at Sainto Domingo, where the bulls are kept, to the bullring where they fight later in the afternoon. The length of the run is 825 meters long and the average time of the run (from start to finish) is about three minutes. The streets of the old town where the bull run is held are walled off to prevent the bulls from escaping. Each day, six fighting bulls run the route as well as two herds of bullocks.   The tension builds as the bulls wait to be released, and a rocket is fired at 8am to confirm the opening of the gate at the Santo Domingo corral. Runners dressed in white with red handkerchiefs around their necks pray to San Fermin. Then a second rocket fires and announces that the bulls have left. The bulls and the runners then proceed along the route.
  It stretches from the corral at Sainto Domingo, where the bulls are kept, to the bullring where they fight later in the afternoon. The length of the run is 825 meters long and the average time of the run (from start to finish) is about three minutes. The streets of the old town where the bull run is held are walled off to prevent the bulls from escaping. Each day, six fighting bulls run the route as well as two herds of bullocks.   The tension builds as the bulls wait to be released, and a rocket is fired at 8am to confirm the opening of the gate at the Santo Domingo corral. Runners dressed in white with red handkerchiefs around their necks pray to San Fermin. Then a second rocket fires and announces that the bulls have left. The bulls and the runners then proceed along the route.
  The first evidence of foreigners in Pamplona for San Fermin are recorded in chronicles from the 17th and 18th century. A reference was made to the local clergy being concerned about “the abuse of drink and the permissiveness of young men and women”. By that point there was plenty music, dancing, drinking, street theatre and bull running as the religious focus of the occasion took a back seat.
  By the 19th century all kinds of fairground attractions were making their way to Pamplona including human cannonballs and circus animals. The actual route of the bull run didn’t have a double security wall as is the case today so the bulls were able to escape, creating chaos in the streets of Pamplona.
  Thanks to the writing of an American writer, Ernest Hemingway, San Fermin became infamous as it is today. The publication of his novel in 1926, “The Sun Also Rises” told the world about the Pamplona bull running festival, which attracted people from all over the world. Due to its popularity, overcrowding has been a serious problem and anyone who wants to watch or is brave enough to take part have to book accommodation many months in advance.
  Another festival I would like to introduce is just as crazy, not quite as dangerous, but even messier. The La Tomatina tomato fight in Bunyol near Valencia is held every year on the last Wednesday in August, though the partying starts earlier in the week. The highlight of the festival is the tomato fight, which takes place between 11am and 1pm.
  The origins of La Tomatina are unclear due to several theories of how Bunyol became the world’s biggest tomato fight. However, the most plausible suggests that the most likely explanation dates back to 1945 when an annual parade of enormous figures with big heads (Gigantes y Cabezudos) was passing through the streets of Bunyol.
  It seems that some youngsters tried to join in the parade and accidentally knocked over one of the giants who got to his feet and started swinging. In retaliation, the youngsters grabbed some tomatoes from a vegetable stall nearby and started throwing them at him until the police arrived to break things up.
  The following year, on the same day, these young people returned to the town hall square and started another tomato fight using their own tomatoes. Again the police intervened and in subsequent years the local council tried to ban the “El día de la tomatina” but failed as the event continued to grow year after year, reaching the ludicrous size it is today.
  As long as you follow the rules, for example, all tomatoes must be crushed before throwing so nobody gets hurt, you can take part in La Tomatina, one of the most exciting experiences one can have in Spain. Don’t forget to bring the french fries!
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