Running of the Bulls

First off, I’m trying to keep an open mind while I write this but it will be hard as my experience in Pamplona is somewhat tainted after I made the mistake of going to an actual bullfight (More on this later and know that it is not pretty).

We were in Pamplona for the last two nights of the annual San Fermin Festival. Most people (tourists anyway) probably go in and out just to party all night and then see the Running of the Bulls. I decided it was best to stay two nights because there was no way I could stay out all night (or in our case go to bed at 2am and wake up at 5am), watch the Running of the Bulls, and then get on a train.

Our hotel, Hotel Burlada was about a 15 minute bus ride from the center of Pamplona. It worked out fine (even if it was very very basic) for us though as buses ran through the night and it was nice having the option to get away from the craziness of San Fermin. We first got to the main festival area around 8pm as the Bull Fight for the night was just finishing up. After the evening’s bullfight, many locals gather in the arena (bull ring) to play music, drink wine, spill wine, and pretty much party. They then make their way into the city’s narrow streets to continue the night’s festivities. It seemed like there were different bands, groups, etc, as they paraded down the streets. There are tons of restaurants, cafes, etc. that have been turned into bars for the festival. I’m not sure anyone in Pamplona does anything else but fiesta during San Fermin – I don’t know how they could because there were people in the bars at all hours of the day and night!

It kinda reminds me of Mardi Gras…..although I’ve never been…. People spilled out into the streets drinking the night away. It was right around 1am where we faced the decision of staying out all night or going back for a couple hours. I’m so glad we went back. Honestly I couldn’t have made it other wise. Luckily we actually got up at 5am, put on our San Fermin gear for the second time (white shirts with red scarf and red belt) and headed out to the bull course. I have no idea how, but we got seats right next to the arena so we got to see runners and bulls right before they get into the ring. We did have to sit on a wooden fence for over an hour before the race started though….but it was worth it. We got to see the swarms of Ambulance, Medical Professionals, and Cops getting ready for the race….which reminded me how scary the race could be.

I never thought for a minute that I would run. Perhaps if I was 10 years younger….maybe but still probably not. I'm somewhat adventurous but I'm small! Although it doesn’t seem like they are running fast it really can be scary! The last bull (I think Giovato was his name) got a bit confused….or maybe just pissed, at the last corner (right by our seats) into the bull ring and started running around in circles charging at people. Someone got pretty badly hurt and was wheeled off by an Ambulance. This is when a lot of the runners started climbing the fence to get away from the charging bull. Of course I freaked out as well and started climbing over the fence I was sitting on (keep in mind I was on the second fence away from the course, separated by cops, another fence, and the runners). I will say though that I’m pretty fast when faced with fear!

The race lasted for 4 minutes, 28 seconds and then afterwards people go into the bull ring to watch the runners “mess” with the bulls. There are probably 200 runners with one bull in the ring at a time. And people would take turns enticing the bull to charge at them. I felt really bad for the bulls….little did I know that this was nothing compared to what was about to happen to them. ☹ We watched for an hour before we decided to head back for a nap – and yes people were somehow starting to drink!!

That night was the last bullfight of the festival. We didn’t have tickets but we were able to scalp tickets pretty easily. We weren’t really planning on going but we weren’t sure what else to do. Now I can honestly say I really didn’t know much about bullfighting. I don’t know if I’ve chosen to ignore the truth or it was just something I never knew about but I had NO idea what they do to these poor animals. I thought the Matador “messed” with them, meaning they waved their flag, the bull charged, and they did tricks. End of story. Not sure what world I’ve been living on but I learned the hard way that I was so very wrong.

We ended up getting seats in the better, shaded section. We were sitting with a lot of adults – not the party section in the sun who really don’t seem to watch the fight. Honestly I wanted to leave after 2 minutes but was nervous we’d be disrespectful so we stayed and I pretended to watch. The bulls have no chance. It was the cruelist thing I have ever seen.

A bull comes into the ring and for about 2 minutes a few junior Matadors (Banderilleros) “mess” with them using their flags and then other Matadors (Picadors) on horses come in with a long spear to lance the bull. But it isn’t just a little pierce….I think they actually make a hole so that the next Matadors can insert their sword/objects in the same spot and weaken the bull even more. Once the hole is made, more Matadors (Bandilleros) come in and insert splints/sharp sticks into the hole. These splints stay in the bull (usually 4 – 6) during the fight.

At this point the bull is bleeding everywhere and I’m sure in an insane amount of pain. Now, this is when the “main” Matador comes in and waves his flag around and does tricks of some sort. I couldn’t tell what made a trick a “good trick”. I suspect it was when a bull got really close to the Matador but he got away. Anyway, the bull is totally weak now, gushing with blood, and expected to “fight” the Matador. The whole time we’re both thinking, “How is this even a fight”. I mean really - way to keep it fair….not to mention it is totally inhumane. So after about 5 minutes of prancing around, the Matador decides the bull is ready and takes out his big sword and inserts it into the hole that has been made for him by the previous 10 Matadors. Sometimes the bull went down right away and other times it would fight back causing the Matador to put in more swords. It was just awful. I couldn’t believe I was actually there. I think that somehow I actually mentally went to another place to be able to sit through it. The worst part is that the crowd was cheering like crazy. The Matadors got standing ovations. Just incredibly, insanely, awful.

I wasn’t going to include any of this but I figured I should because there may be people like me who just didn’t know this happens…. And I am still really mad at myself for not knowing what a bullfight is all about.

So that’s it – there’s my take on the Running of the Bulls. Perhaps it would have been different if I hadn’t seen the bullfight. I don’t know. I’m all for tradition and I love a good party but it is a whole different story when you realize that torturing of animals is the center of it all.