Running of the Bulls

The Running of the Bulls (in Spanish "encierro", from the verb "encerrar", to shut in, to lock up)cite web
title= Spanish-English Dictionary
url= http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=encierro
publisher= WordReference.com
date= 2008
accessdate= 2008-07-21] is a practice that involves running in front of bulls that have been let loose on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town's streets. The most famous running of the bulls is that of the nine-day festival of San Fermín in Pamplona,cite web
title=Sanfermin guide. Running of the bulls
url=http://www.sanfermin.com/old/2006/guia.php?lang=eng
publisher=Kukuxumusu
date=2007
accessdate=2008-07-21] although they are held in towns and villages across Spain and in some cities in southern France, during the summer. Unlike bullfights, which are performed by professionals, anyone may participate in an encierro.

The origin of this custom is the transport of the bulls from the off-site corrals where they had spent the night to the bullring where they would be killed in the evening. Youngsters would jump among them to show off their bravado.

Injuries are common to the participants who may be gored or trampled, and to the bulls, whose hooves grip poorly on the paved or cobbled street surfaces. [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080707/ap_on_re_eu/spain_running_of_the_bulls 13 are injured in Pamplona's running of the bulls] ]

The event

Before the running of the bulls, a set of wooden or iron barricades is erected to direct the bulls along the route and to block off sidestreets. There may be a double row of barricades along the route to allow runners to quickly exit in case of danger. The gaps in the barricades are wide enough for a person to slip through, but narrow enough to block a bull.

A group of large oxen are released at the end of the run to pick up any stragglers and a run is considered good if the bulls flow swiftly. Fact|date=February 2007 Whenever a bull gets separated from the herd, it can be dangerous because it will be disoriented and will then often attack anything, or anyone who moves and attracts its attentionFact|date=July 2008.

Pamplona

The Pamplona encierro is the most popular in Spain and is broadcasted live by two national television channels.cite web
title= Sanfermines 2008
url= http://www.cuatro.com/programas/programa.html?type=Tes&xref=20080625ctoultpro_2
publisher= Cuatro
date= 2008
accessdate= 2008-07-21] cite web
title= 27 años de Sanfermines en TVE
url= http://www.rtve.es/television/20080703/anos-sanfermines-tve/111770.shtml
publisher= RTVE
date= 2008
accessdate= 2008-07-21] It is the highest profile event of the San Fermin festival, which is held every year from July 6-14.. The first bull running is on July 7, followed by one on each of the following mornings of the festival, beginning every day at 8am.

Being over eighteen and entering the itinerary before 7:30. are the main requirements to participate. Other prohibitions are to run under the influence of alcohol, run in the opposite direction of the running or incite the bulls. cite web
title= The Bull Run
url= http://www.pamplona.net/VerPagina.asp?IdPag=287&Idioma=5
publisher= Ayuntamiento de Pamplona (Council of Pamplona)
date=
accessdate= 2008-07-21]

The event begins with runners singing three times "A San Fermín pedimos, por ser nuestro patrón, nos guíe en el encierro dándonos su bendición" ("We ask San Fermín, as our Patron, to guide us through the encierro and give us his blessing"), a prayer to a statue of Saint Fermin, patron of the festival and the city, to ask his protection. The singing finishes shouting “Viva San Fermín!, Gora San Fermín!” (Long live San Fermin, in Spanish and Basque). Runners dress in the traditional clothing of the festival which consists of white shirt and trousers with a red waistband and neckerchief. In one hand, they hold the day's newspaper rolled to draw the bulls' attention from them if necessary. A first rocket is set off to alert the runners that the corral gate is open. A second rocket signals that all six bulls and six steers have been released. A third and forth rockets are signals of all the herd entering the bullring and its corral respectively, marking the end of the event. The average duration between the first rocket and the end of the encierro is around four minutes.

The herd is composed by the six bulls to be fought in the afternoon and two groups of oxen. Eight oxen run with the bulls and three more leave the corral two minutes later. The function of the oxen is to guide the herd and are all the days of the festival the same. The average speed of the herd is 24 km/h.

The length of the run is around 840 meters and goes through 4 streets of the old part of the village (Santo Domingo, Town Hall Square, Mercaderes and Estafeta) and a section called "Telefónica" before entering into the bullring. The fastest part of the route is up Santo Domingo and across the Town Hall Square, but the bulls often became separated at the entrance to Estafeta Street as they slow down. One or more would slip going into the turn at Estafeta, but with the use of the new anti-slip surfacing, most of the bulls negotiate the turn onto Estafeta and are often ahead of the steers. This has resulted in a quicker, but not safer run as the bulls are usually out ahead of the steers as they reach the lane.

Every year between 200 and 300 people are injured during the run although most injuries are contusions due to falls and are not serious. Since 1910, 14 people have been killed in Pamplona, the last person to be killed in the Pamplona's bull run was Fermín Etxeberria Iraneta a 63-year-old veteran runner from Pamplona who died in 2003 from a head injury cite web
url=http://www.sanferminprensa.com/eng/fiesta.htm
title=La Fiesta
accessdate=2008-06-18
publisher= Press Association of Pamplona] while the last person to be directly killed by the bull's horns was Matthew Tassio, an American tourist who was gored in 1995. [cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4679751.stm
title=Tassio Death
accessdate=2008-07-01
publisher= BBC]

The encierro of Pamplona has been depicted many times in literature, television or advertising. The cinema pioneer Louis Lumiére filmed the run in 1931." [http://www.euskomedia.org/aunamendi/39025 Encierro de toros] " in the Spanish-language Auñamendi Encyclopedia.] but was world wide known partly due to the descriptions of Ernest Hemingway in "The Sun Also Rises" and "Death in the Afternoon."

Other examples

Although the most famous running of the bulls is that of San Fermín, they are held in towns and villages across Spain, In some Spanish Colonies in America dubious and in some cities in southern France during the summer. Examples are the bull run of San Sebastián de los Reyes, near Madrid, at the end of august which is the most popular of Spain after Pamplona, the bull run of Cuéllar, considered as the oldest of Spain since there are documents of its existence dating back to 1215, or the bull run of Navalcarnero held at night.

A variation is the nightly "fire bull" where balls of flammable material are placed on the horns. Nowadays the bull is often replaced by a runner carrying a frame on which fireworks are placed and dodgers, usually children, run to avoid the sparks.

Opposition

Many animal rights activists oppose the event. PETA activists have created the "running of the nudes", a demonstration the day before the beginning of San Fermín in Pamplona. By marching naked, they protest the festival and the following bullfight claiming the bulls are tortured for entertainment. [http://www.runningofthenudes.com/ Running of the Nudes] . PETA official site.] .

ee also

* Bull-leaping
* Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu, India

References

External links

* [http://www.sanfermin.com/index.php/en/encierro/que-es Guide, photos and videos about The Running of The Bulls in Pamplona]
* [http://www.eyetopic.co.uk/Valencia_Running_of_the_Bulls/index.htm 25 February 2006 - Running of the bulls in Campanar, Valencia]
* [http://www.telefonica.net/web2/santopatron/index.htm Movimiento 15 de julio photos and texts (In Spanish)]
* [http://gospain.about.com/od/spanishfestivals/ig/Pamplona-Bull-Run-2006/index.htm Images from the 2006 San Fermin festival in Pamplona]
* [http://www.sanfermin.tk Pictures and Videos of 2006 and 2007 Running of the Bulls Balcony]
* [http://www.curioustravelers.com Videos of 2007 Running of the Bulls Balcony]
* [http://www.nolabulls.com Official website for the Running of the Bulls in New Orleans, Louisiana]

Listening

* [http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_070712k.cfm Here On Earth: Radio Without Borders - Running with the Bulls]