The first running of the bulls, or the encierro, as they call it here in Pamplona is over. It is the first of eight mornings where the bulls that fight in the afternoon run from corrals at the edge of town through the old town streets to the bullring.
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Here are three vignettes from Pamplona. Two have to do with culture and the final deals with the Running of the Bulls that made the city famous throughout the world. This is a complex city with a population that works hard and parties hard. It manages to balance the Spanish way of life with the Basque culture. It has blended its old town with the modern highrise neighborhoods.
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Tuesday at noon in Pamplona, the mayor shot a rocket into the air from the balcony of the town hall and the fiesta de San Fermin burst into abandon. Thousand of locals and visitors started what is an eight-day, non-stop party in the streets of this northern Spanish town.
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You don’t have to be an expert to see that the current economic crisis is affecting tourism in Europe. What is amounting to a disaster for merchants, hotels and airlines is a pleasant surprise for tourists who are finding traveling conditions better than recent years.
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Last week’s column described the reasons why Charlie Leocha returns to Pamplona year after year. This week’s column deals with the reality of running the bulls, enjoying the fiesta and some nuts and bolts.
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Sometimes travelers wander into cities by accident. But I know exactly why I came to Pamplona that first year. I came to run the bulls. This is the world’s biggest party. It starts in a few days.
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Calling all Hemingway impersonators. There’s only a week to sign up. Selected participants get a free trip to Pamplona, Spain, in the region of Navarre. Winners get $2,000 and a trip for two to the Running of the Bulls, then along the Hemingway Route in Spain.
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Anyone who knows me know that I have returned to Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls for the past 30+ years. I love the fiesta and fine it a time where the outside world stays at bay and the festival envelopes me. Here are some video’s that bring the morning run to life.
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Anna Leocha has already been to Pamplona’s famed Running of the Bulls nine times — and she is only 19 years old. This summer she returns to discover the grown-up side of the fiesta — bulls, dancing and wine — after spending her early years immersed in the surprising family side of the festival — spinning giants, churros and fun fair rides.
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In Pamplona, the heart of the San Fermin festival is the thundering herd of bulls. In Munich, the focus of Octoberfest is huge mugs of beer and swaying hordes of inebriated revelers singing “Ein, Zwei, Zufer.” In New Orleans, Mardi Gras centers on the parades and fabulous floats surrounded by nonstop music. Valencia’s city festival, Las Fallas is consumed by fire — more fire, explosions and fireworks than you could ever imagine. Charlie Leocha has been there.
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