We objectively present the facts of the festivity and let you decide on the morality of it. Homeschool Spanish Academy is a language academy that explores the traditions and customs of the Spanish culture with the goal of helping our students better understand it and master its language. Not only is it a dangerous activity for participants, with around 200 injuries a year and 15 recorded deaths since 1910, but it’s also a tradition that animal rights defenders label as “cruel” and “barbaric.” ![]() Notwithstanding its fame and popularity, the running of the bulls is a controversial tradition, to say the least. Hemingway’s notoriety, his notable writing style, and the unusual traditions he described made the festival world famous and put it in the spotlight for international travelers. In his novel, the Nobel Prize winner introduced the San Fermín Festival to the world by describing what he had seen and experienced in his multiple trips to Pamplona. And it would have stayed that way if not for American writer Ernest Hemingway, who in 1926 wrote the novel The Sun Also Rises-also known as Fiesta. The San Fermín Festival in Pamplona was just a traditional fiesta like those in every little town and city in Spain, with its unique features and particularities. ![]() What Does Ernest Hemingway Have to Do With It? However, the weather in September isn’t the best for a fiesta in north Spain, so Pamplonenses organized themselves to change their patron saint’s feast day to July 7, which has been the official Día de San Fermín since 1591.ĭifferent elements and traditions were added over the years, such as the Procesión de los Gigantes y Cabezudos (Procession of the Giants and Bigheads), the Chupinazo (or Txupinazo in Basque language), and the running of the bulls, among many others. In the 14th century, the local fair was held at the end of September every year, which meant that many merchants, farmers, and locals gathered together at approximately the same time as the San Fermín commemoration. At this point, the celebration was strictly religious and took place in September. In this case, the celebration was to commemorate the martyrdom of San Fermín, and it dates back to the 12th century. History and OriginsĪs is the case with most Spanish traditions, the Pamplona Spain running of the bulls started as a religious ceremony in the Middle Ages. ![]() There have been editions when the running of the bulls has taken up to half an hour. However, sometimes the bulls get distracted or something unexpected happens, and the encierro can take a bit longer. These days, the encierro takes about two and a half minutes, which is the time that takes the bulls to run the 850 meters from its starting point at the pens of Santo Domingo to the bullring. To transfer bulls from one part of the city to another, people would block streets to “confine” the bulls to controlled route. ![]() The word Spanish people use to refer to the running of the bulls is encierro, which literally translates as “confinement.” The word comes from the origins of the tradition. What is the running of the bulls called in Spanish? That city is Pamplona, Spain and its running of the bulls is the most keynote event of one of the biggest fiestas on Earth: the San Fermín Festival. Where does running of the bulls take place? Unless you live in a cave, odds are that you have heard that every summer, a few apparently crazy people run in front of a herd of bulls through the streets of a small Spanish city.
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