Sanfermines
The Sanfermines ( Basque Sanferminak ) have been celebrated annually in Pamplona from July 6th to 14th since 1591 . The focus here is the Encierro, the world-famous bull run .
history
The Sanfermines are celebrated in honor of Saint Firmin the Elder , a son of the city who evangelized the area around Amiens in France around the third century AD . Curiously, San Fermín is neither the patron saint of Pamplona (that is, Saturninus of Toulouse ) nor of the Navarre region ( Francis Xavier has this honor ). Even the date of the festivities does not coincide with the original feast day of the saint on October 10th: in 1591 it was decided in Pamplona to move the festival, which had been celebrated since 1324, to July 7th due to bad weather in October.
The nature of the festivities is rooted in medieval fairs (ferias) and bullfights (corridas de toros). At that time the bulls were driven by shepherds to the Plaza de Toros in the city. The Spanish bullfight is the last relic of that ancient ritual that usually puts the killing of a bull at the center of the plot.
Chupinazo
The chupinazo (Basque: txupinazo ) is the official start of the Sanfermines. On July 6th, thousands and thousands of festival guests gather in front of the town hall in a dense crowd to await and celebrate the starting shot of the small rocket (cohete) at 12 noon. A local personality is chosen to detonate this rocket and then officially proclaim the festival week with the slogan Viva San Fermín, Gora San Fermin (“Long live San Fermín” in Spanish and Basque). Wearing the red scarves, part of the typical clothing, is rather unusual before the start of the fiesta. Typical clothing is white trousers and a white shirt or blouse. The red scarf is worn on the wrist before the fiesta begins. Once the festival has opened, it is worn around the neck.
procession
On July 7th at 10:00 a large figure of San Fermín is carried through the old town of Pamplona as part of a procession. During short breaks, the participants sing in honor of their patron. This procedure takes about an hour and a half until the train arrives at the Church of San Lorenzo . Mass will then be held there in the Church of St. Fermín. For some citizens, this religious aspect is one of the most important of the festival.
Gigantes y Cabezudos
Gigantes y Cabezudos are popular figures of the Spanish folk tradition, they can be found in many places in inner-city parades etc. The Gigantes are eight figures about three meters tall, each in pairs of the king and queen (Spanish: Rey y Reina ) of the Depicting continents of Europe, Asia, America and Africa and dancing through the streets of Pamplona every day during the fiesta. They are worn by men and this turns out to be not that easy due to the weight of the individual figures. Traditional Navarre-Basque music is also played. At the end of each day, the Gigantes say goodbyein the Estación de autobuses.
The Cabezudos are somewhat smaller figures that stand out due to their huge heads. You accompany the Gigantes through the streets of Pamplona. They are divided into Cabezudos, Kilikis and Zaldicos. The Cabezudos represent different people, e.g. B. the Alcalde (mayor). The Kilikis are six pirates who beat the children with foam clubs as a small punishment. The Zaldicos are riders who also hit the children with these clubs.
Encierro (bull run)
The encierro is driving the six fighting bulls into the bullring . This is a stretch of 875 meters that mainly leads through the old town Casco Viejo of Pamplona. A bull can weigh between 550 and 700 kg and reaches a speed of around 25 km / h while being driven in. The fighting bulls are accompanied by some oxen, which have a calming effect on the bulls and have a guiding function during the driving in.
The encierro (confinement because the streets were cordoned off with wooden barriers) takes place every day from July 7th to 14th at 8 a.m. and lasts about three minutes if there are no complications. As soon as the rocket launches at 8 a.m. sharp, the six bulls set out on the track with some oxen (with cowbells) and run towards the bullring (Plaza de Toros) of Pamplona. The thrill of the participants, including regular foreign tourists, is to run a short distance next to a bull if possible. However, due to the high speed, this is only possible for a few meters.
Traditionally, every runner (mozo) wears a white shirt and white, tight-fitting pants as well as a red scarf (pañuelo rojo) and a red sash (faja).
A few minutes before the start of the race, some runners of the so-called "Peñas" sing the text A San Fermín pedimos, por ser nuestro patrón, nos guíe en el encierro, dándonos su bendición three times in front of the statue of the patron San Fermín in the Cuesta de Santo Domingo . ¡Viva San Fermín! Gora San Fermin! ("We ask you San Fermín, who are our protector, to guide us during the run and to give us your blessing. Long live San Fermín!"). Since 2010, the text has also been sung in Basque for each of the three chants after Spanish.
The most dangerous parts are the Cuesta de Santo Domingo and the Curva de Mercaderes. This is where most accidents usually happen. As the number of participants increases every year, so does the risk of injury, as more and more people cavort on the route and on the escape routes. Since 1900, 15 people who took part in the "Encierro" test of courage have died.
The run ends in the bullring Plaza de Toros de Pamplona . While the bulls are driven into the stables, the runners stay in the arena. One after the other, six young bulls are let into the arena, which - to entertain the audience - take the runners on their tied horns.
After driving in, the six full-grown fighting bulls have exactly ten hours to face the matadors' team's death throes according to an ancient ritual that same evening in the bullring . The fight usually ends fatally for the bull. The income from the tickets to the arena and the sale of the bull meat are used for charitable purposes.
The Sanfermines offer a rich cultural offer for the whole family almost around the clock. After the Encierro there are parades with the cabezudos (big heads) - these are about three meters tall giant figures that are supposed to correspond to the old model of the Middle Ages, the kings of Europe, Africa, America and Asia. On July 7th, the name day of the patron saint, San Fermín, who was Bishop of Amiens, there is a colorful parade through the old town in the morning. Here, clergymen and members of religious groups etc. a. the votive image of St. Fermín through the streets, accompanied by music groups and secular celebrities. In the evening there are many events, concerts and an illustrious, picturesque fireworks display every evening, which is set off in the Pamplona citadel.
The making of the Encierro
The bulls come from the south of Spain and are kept in the corrales outside the city before the bullfights . Since there were no trucks in earlier times or they were too bulky for the small alleys, the bulls had to be driven through the streets to the arena. This was done with the help of cowherds on horseback and on foot, who guided the bulls with shouts and sticks. These still exist today. With long willow sticks, they ensure that the Encierro runs smoothly. Over time, more and more people helped and started running in front of the bulls. It was and has always been a great test of courage for local youth and young adults to run a short distance in front of and next to the bulls. Over time it became a tradition and it became world famous through the visit and works of the writer Ernest Hemingway , who himself took part in the bull runs (see chapter literature ).
Las peñas
The peñas are next to the bulls of the elementary part of the San Fermin fiestas. These are groups of friends that are organized like clubs and ensure a good atmosphere throughout the week in all parts of the center. They make music and walk through the streets singing with banners and plenty of alcoholic beverages (including sangría ). On average, a peña has around 300 members. You are involved in the planning of the Sanfermines and also help finance them. There are 16 peñas in Pamplona itself , the oldest being “La Única” (since 1903). There are also some foreign peñas, e . B. from the USA and Germany.
Victim
Between 1924 and 2009 a total of 15 people died at the encierros : in 1995 the American Matthew Tassio was pierced by the horns of a bull and killed in the process, and in 2003 a 62-year-old Spaniard was killed. The 27-year-old Spaniard Daniel Jimeno Romero died on July 10, 2009. His carotid artery was severed by one of the horns of the bull Capuchino , who had recently been isolated from a fall , after which he died at 8:45 a.m. in the hospital despite immediate emergency surgery. On the other hand, there are various figures for the injury statistics. However, with a single encierro , 50 or even more injuries can occur. Most accidents, however, have no harm. In 2006, 40 men were injured on the first day of the Sanfermines alone, many of them seriously. A 31-year-old American was severely injured in the spinal cord by the horns of a bull and suffered paraplegia. The run lasted three and a half minutes that day because there was a lot of crowd on the track and the participants were obstructing each other.
Fuenting
Fuenting is an increasingly popular custom . From the Fuente de Navarrería, the fountain in the Plaza de la Navarrería, the jumpers rush forward into the crowd, where they are caught by the catchers.
El Pobre de mí
The festival ends on July 14th where the hustle and bustle began, on the Plaza Consistorial in front of the town hall. The crowd gathers with candles and sings the "Pobre de mí":
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Pobre de mí |
Oh poor me, |
literature
Some works of world literature deal with the Sanfermines in Pamplona, above all the novel Fiesta by Ernest Hemingway . The novel, which was published under the original title The Sun Also Rises in 1926, resulted in many Americans taking part in the bull run in Pamplona every year to this day . The chapter "Pamplona" in the novel The Children of Torremolinos by James A. Michener also reports on these . In memory of Hemingway, a bust of the poet was placed in front of the bullring of the city of Pamplona on the Paseo d'Hemingway . In his books Death in the Afternoon and Dangerous Summer, Hemingway referred to his experiences at bullfighting in Spain.
- Ernest Hemingway: Fiesta ( The Sun Also Rises, 1926). Rowohlt Taschenbuchverlag, 2003. ISBN 3-499-22603-0 .
- James A. Michener: The Children of Torremolinos ( The Drifters, 1971). Translator: Renate Welsh. Goldmann Taschenbuchverlag, 1971. ISBN 3-442-41137-8 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Guía rápida del encierro. In: Sanfermin.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019 (European Spanish).
- ↑ Pamplona. Young Spaniard impaled while chasing bulls. In: Tagesspiegel.de. July 11, 2009, accessed May 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Heinz Krieger: Corrida is a billion dollar business. In: swp.de. Südwest Presse Online, July 10, 2015, accessed on January 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Running of the bulls. Tragic history. ( Memento from October 19, 2006 in the Internet Archive ). In: Sanfermin.com.
- ^ Message for First Time Runners. ( Memento of February 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ). In: bullrunners.co.uk.
- ↑ Sanfermines 2009. El corredor muerto en el encierro es un joven de Alcalá de Henares. In: ElPeriodico.com. July 10, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009 .
- ↑ Spain. 61 injured bull hunting in Pamplona. In: Spiegel.de . July 11, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2018 .
- ↑ Pobre de mí. ( Memento of January 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). In: Sanfermin.com.
