The Running of the Bulls blog » The bull fighting

2nd International Contest of Flash Stories on San Fermin

rajauta — Fri, 21 May 2010 10:27:58 +0000

Dear readers,

We are very glad to announce the start of the 2nd INTERNATIONAL CONTEST OF FLASH STORIES ON SAN FERMIN.

Lat yea we came up with this idea while drinking a bottle of red wine after a enjoying a nice dinner in our ‘Peña’, some two months ago. Since then, we have been preparing all the details with the valuable help of some friends (and sanfermin fanatics) from the winery Principe de Viana.

The stories can be written in english, spanish or basque and shall be no longer than 200 words.

We would like to thank our sponsor Principe de Viana for their support, as well as the Pamplona City Council for its cooperation.

Feel free to participate in this contest, which will serve as a warm-up for the fiesta.
There are very nice prices for the winners!.
The 10 better Flash Stories will be translated into the 3 official languages and will be stamped on a book.

If you want to get more information, just click here.

El Toro

estafetakoa — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:54:40 +0000

Toro. This is the Spanish word for bull. A short and strong word. During San Fermin festival, bull is the King in Pamplona. Although the festival is dedicated to San Fermin, everything goes around the bull. A week before San Fermin bulls arrive in Pamplona from their homelands in Castilla and Andalucia. You may visit those splendid animals at Corrales del Gas, Errotazar Street. They spend their last days in Pamplona in a beautiful and quiet place close to Arga River. When you see them so relaxed, it is difficult to realize how fierce and brave may be in streets and bullring.

The night before their running, bulls, acompanied by oxen, go from Corrales del Gas to Corralillos de Santo Domingo. They will sleep there and at 8 o’clock in the morning, they will play the main role in the most famous race in world. Pamplona stops breathing during the two or three minutes bulls need to arrive at the Bull Ring.

Those six bulls will die at the arena that afternoon. Lots of runners will attend this ceremony as spectators at the Bull Ring.

This ancestral rite about life and death will be completed some days later, when you eat a delicious ‘estofado de toro’, bull meat cooked with potatoes, carrots, spices and some other secret ingredients.

You may think we are cruel and behave as barbarians, so let’s discuss about it…

What is a Peña?

estafetakoa — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 10:38:15 +0000

If you only have references about San Fermin based on TV or Hemingway’s ‘The sun…’ you may not have noticed one of the main elements in our fiesta: Peñas.

What does that strange word mean? Peñas are a kind of clubs in Pamplona where you may go in, only if you are a member. But during Sanfermines, Peñas are open for anybody, no matter if you are native or foreigner, boy or girl, leftish or rightish, poor or rich. These Peñas have bars in the Old Part of Iruña*, where members of these clubs work as waiters. As they are not profesionals, drink prices are lower than in normal bars and the atmosphere is very funny and popular.

Apart from these bars, each Peña has its own music band you may find playing on streets, surrounded by a lot of people and going from bar to bar, singing and dancing, following a banner.

If you respect musicians and rest of people from Peña, you will be accepted and perhaps you may have the best hours in your life.

For further information (in Basque and Spanish languages), consult http://websanfermin.com/web/index.htm

*Iruña is the Basque name of Pamplona.