Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls
Probably one of the most famous festivals in Spain, the Fiesta de San Fermin features the The Running of The Bulls (Encierro) from July 6th-14th. Every morning, hundreds of crazed locals and visitors risk their lives to outrun the bulls as they thrash along a 1000 metre stretch of the town’s streets towards the bullring. Ernest Hemingway was the first to bring the festival to international attention in his 1927 novel Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises but its origins stretch back to the 15th Century. The run is split into 3 degrees of difficulty - Santo Domingo for the crazy ones, the corner of Mercaderes for the not so brave and Estafeta for the chickens. A shorter run known as the encierrillo takes place around 11pm along the route but bizarrely, requires an invitation from the Town Hall! From last year, the roads have been painted with anti-slip paint in an attempt to prevent more mishaps than necessary although for many animal rights protestors, the event remains a cruel outrage (see the post below).
More details about the event plus an official programme: http://212.21.227.173/VerPag.asp?IdPag=763&Idioma=5
The San Fermin festival website has everything else that goes on besides the Bull Run over the week: http://www.sanfermin.com/guia/in_sanfermin.shtml
