The Best of Pamplona through San Fermin

Pamplona may not be as big a city as Madrid or Barcelona but this city holds a great treasure to the locals and tourists. It offers the exciting San Fermin fiesta which is extremely popular with one and all. The San Fermin fiesta is the best offering of Pamplona as this festival is festively celebrated over a week with a myriad of activities and merry-making.

One of the most famous activities during the San Fermin fiesta is the bull runs.

Traditional activity

The San Fermin festival is also known as ‘Sanfermines’; it is a traditional activity that has been in existence since the early centuries with its official celebration in September before it is changed to the second week of July due to adverse weather.

This festival is held in honor of San Fermin who is a popular local saint. However, this festival celebration is now world renowned with tourists coming by in thousands every year to witness the ‘Encierro’ or the ‘Running of the Bulls’. Thousands of locals take part in this exhilarating and dangerous traditional activity. Young Spanish men claim their manhood with this effort. Bulls weighing around 6.5 tons each are released from the stocks to run 800 meters along the condoned town streets leading to the local bull ring. Things can get quite frenzy and harmful if one panics or become careless.

Full Celebrations

The fiesta begins with the rocket blasting off with thousands of witnesses at the town square. The rocket is known as “chupizano” to kick start the San Fermin celebrations. Cava corks pop readily in tandem with bottles spraying at fellow observers at the festival. Locals come dressed with red handkerchiefs around the necks and waists tied with red sashes to commence the celebrations in full traditional costumes for the week long partying.

The bull runs form the main activity of the celebration with everyone in eager anticipation from start to finish. The bull runs lead on to another equally exhilarating event at the bull ring where brave matadors confront the energized bulls for another adrenalin pumping activity known as the “corrida”. Only the bold and brave men would take up the challenge of a bullfight in the traditional bullring.

Bull runs and bull fights come on every day of the festival with the ritual repeating. There have been several casualties with the bull runs and bull fights over the years although not many have been recorded.

The nights usually end with full partying where the ‘Comparsa de Gigantes’ display come on. This is the impressive gigantic puppets parade with brass bands accompanying them.