Running of the Bulls News Feed

Cheers!

What drink do you love? We love wine! We use wine to cook, drink,and even as a ingredient for great massages (yes, we can arrange a massage paired with glasses of wine while you’re in Pamplona). So, for Navarra’s people, wine is a big part of our culture! When I think of family moments I can imagine my uncle opening a magnificent wine reserved for a special occasion. As a child I enjoyed vermut with my parents, and now, I remember seeing them drinking wine and eating pintxos (tapas) with many friends and giving to us wine for kids named “mosto”, a tasty grape juice with no alcohol, served always with a green olive! Navarrans really love their wine and…

2013 San Fermin Fireworks Prizes Awarded

Winners of the XIV International Fireworks Competition were honored in a Pamplona ceremony. The Reception Room of the Pamplona Town Hall welcomed this morning a ceremony to award the prizes drawn among the participants in the popular vote of the XIV International Fireworks Competition at the 2013 San Fermin Festival. The winners were: Raquel Rojas Goicoechandía (ebook) Alvaro Blasco Vicente (ebook), Julian Fernando Andueza Irurzun (tablet), José Miguel Ayerra Pascal (tablet), Maria Angeles Sancho Rodríguez (Nintendo Wii) and Joseph Zapiain Bust (camera ). The awards were presented by the Councillor for Education and Culture, Fermín Alonso, and the Director of Marketing of the Diario de Navarra, Mar Lopez, representatives of the two entities that sponsored the fireworks competition. The popular…

Can’t wait until next Running of the Bulls™?!

I’m still reminded each time I enjoyed in the past Sanfermines and I decide that I can’t wait until next year! Many people do not know that it is not necessary to wait a year to dance with the Peñas (music bands), watch the giants and big heads, or to run in front of Torico de Fuego (fireworks bull). Every year on September 25th in Pamplona, in the neighborhood of Navarrería, the San Fermin Chiquito occurs. It’s a small festival to commemorate the martyrdom of the saint in Amiens, France. This festival isn’t eight days like San Fermin, but instead four (from, always, Thursday through Sunday). Though the event is mainly aimed at children, it’s still full of tradition and…

City of Pamplona’s High Web Traffic

The portal created by the City of Pamplona for information about the festivities during the San Fermín Festival (https://www.sanferminoficial.com/) recorded between the 6th and the 14th of July a total of 13,951 visits, with an average of 1,550 per day. The 4,613 visitors that looked through the website during the San Fermín Festival viewed 59,548 pages which offered various information related to the Festival. After the home page, the page most visited was the one that held the official program of San Fermín, with the total of 7,395 views. These were followed by the pages that contain information about the times of the events, with 5,078 views, and the Bull Run or videos of the Festival, with 3,518 and 2,015…

2013 Bull Runner Survey Results

A survey at the Running of the Bulls™ shows that 56% of runners ran for the first time this year, and 86% are between the ages of 18 and 35. 56% of the people who have participated in the Running of the Bulls in the past did it for the first time, 21% say they run occasionally, and 23% say they make a habit of running each year. This data is derived from 517 surveys conducted by the City of Pamplona to runners during the eight days of the San Fermin Festival. The survey also notes the amount of young people who ran, since 80% of the runners were between the ages of 18 and 35, 17% between the ages…

Local Board of Civil Protection Meets

This morning at 11am, in the local Pamplona Municipal Police station, the first local Board of Civil Protection of the Festival has taken place, headed by the Mayor Enrique Maya and those responsible for various municipal areas (City Security, Urban Housing and the Environment, Education and Culture, Urban Conservation and Welfare and Equality). This meeting was to take stock of the first hours of the Festival with representatives of the Municipal Police Headquarters, Provincial Police, National Police and Civil Guard, the ANE (Agencia Navarra de Emergencias - Navarra Emergency Agency), the Department of Interior Government of Navarra, the Pamplona Service commonwealth, the DYA, the Red Cross and other groups involved in the development of the Festival and those responsible for…

Precautions Taken at the Running of the Bulls™

On July 2nd a non-slip surface will be applied to several sections of the streets where the Running of the Bulls takes place in order to reduce the number of falls by the runners and bulls. The Running of the Bulls Working Group noted in their meeting this morning that next Tuesday, July 2nd an anti-slip substance will be applied to various sections of the bull run route, especially in the area near the curve at Mercaderes Street, as an added security measure. Also, they have addressed various issues about the coordination of the Running of the Bulls after analyzing the races last year and reviewing the rules for participation of the runners. As it has done since 2005, the…

The Sanfermines Soundtrack

When I came to Dallas one of the strangest sensations I felt was when I was at a party – everyone knew the song lyrics except for me. There I was in the middle of all the locals singing and I didn’t know any of the words. This put a damper on my nights out because I wasn’t having as fun as the locals. I would like to help prevent this same situation for you while in Pamplona. During the San Fermin Festival, the music is varied, but all good Pamplonica have to know the basic songs of the fiesta: 1 de Enero This song is going to be present at all parties, it is sung at the beginning, middle,…

Rojoneo, A traditional Bullfight

Many people traveling to Pamplona think that there are bullfights the entire year, but in Pamplona they only occur during the Running of the Bulls™. From 7 to July 14 you can attend traditional bullfights, but only on the July 6 can you enjoy the Rejones, a special bullfight where the bullfighter rides a horse. I can boast of having not missed a single Sanfermines my entire life, but it was only three years when I learned that traditionally bullfighters were on horseback and not on foot. On July 6, 2010 my father, who is a big aficionado of bullfighting, asked me if I would accompany him to the Rejones. I accepted and after seeing the first bull I understood…

The mysterious history of the Tortilla De Patatas.

There are few pleasures cheaper than eating a good Spanish omelette (Tortilla de Patatas). Tasting this staple within Spanish cuisine is a “must” when you visit Pamplona during the San Fermín festival. This delicacy is varied but is something that almost everyone loves. Actually, you can find tortilla de patatas in any bar in Spain. It is a simple and inexpensive dish, but has also captivated chefs worldwide, like Ferran Adriá, who has included it (his tortilla de patatas is more sophisticated and unconventional) among his exquisite dishes. Until recently, the first known document that referenced the tortilla de patatas was a letter dated from 1817, led to the Cortes de Navarra, in which it was says that the people…
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