Sanfermin 2012, "The Last Party", could be the final Sanfermin in all human history if the prophesies from the Maya civilization come to pass. Some of us have prepared for the worst here in Kukuxumusu, where we have created a special tee shirt to commemorate what could be the final Sanfermin mega-party before total destruction falls on our world. Then there are others, like Beelorzia, the sheep, who try to sidestep their fate but the partying will put everyone in their place in the end.

The runnings of the bulls will kick off this Thursday at 11:30 inside the Fair to celebrate Navarra Day at the Fitur Fair being held in Madrid. Repeat runs will take place on Saturday morning and afternoon and again on Sunday morning. All the classic ingredients of the real running of the bulls can be found in these imitation runs; the txupinazo opening rocket of the Pamplona fiestas, the homily sung to the saint before the running of the bulls, the bull-minders, the medical assistance in situ and some other similar elements. There will probably also be a few inoffensive charges made by our fluffy blue bulls.

In addition to providing some "bulls" for the running of the bulls, The Drawing Factory is also responsible for the adornment of the Navarra Stand with some typical Kukuxumusu drawings on view with some well-known characters and sites from Navarra such as "The Three Musketeers" at the Royal Palace in Olite, "Tarzan "in the woods of the Irati or a Martian at the site of the Templar's Church of Eunate.

According to a statement from the Government of Navarra, on the 19th of January at 11.30 at the Navarra Stand in the Fitur Fair, a simulation of the Pamplona Bullrunning will take place. Mister Testis will be responsible for tossing some fluffy gorings to anyone who wishes to sign up for the running. Today there was a press conference held by the Navarra Government Department of Tourism and the councilor for the department, Juan Luis Sánchez de Muniáin outlined the details for the forthcoming fair along with his Managing Director of Tourism, Carlos Erce. Mr. Sanchez de Muniáin stated that the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls is one of the three key elements of the Government's participation at the Fitur Annual Tourism Fair; "The best-known reference for Navarra outside its borders is the Sanfermin fiestas and this event will always be the tourist banner for Navarra abroad", he stated.

It seems the simulation of the running of the bulls will have all the ingredients of the real event, that is to say, there will be a txupinazo rocket set off; the homilies will be sung and there will be runners, bull-minders and even the emergency ambulance services on display. Mister Testis will be charging around even though his fluffy horns will not cause any real damage. The Navarra firm, Sanferminencierro is responsible for setting up the simulated bullrunning. The first event is scheduled for 11.30 on the 1st of January- Navarra Day at the Fitur Fair. There will also be a simulated run on the Saturday in the morning and afternoon and again on Sunday morning. Mister Testis has already shown his talent for the bullrunning when he appeared last year in Estafeta Street during Sanfermin 2011 with the kiddies event that was organized that day - the encierro Txiki. Our blue bull is in good form at the moment as he showed the other day when he launched the Sanferfin 2012 tee shirt. This exclusive tee shirt from Kukuxumusu.com and Sanfermin.com was made with the Maya prophecies in mind and suggests that this coming Sanfermin 2012 could be the final one of all time!

For the second successive year, the Navarra Stand at Fitur has been adorned with drawings from Kukuxumusu.. In 2012, the route of the medieval castles and forts in Navarra will form the background theme of the stand just as in 2011 the background theme had been a recreation of the running of the bulls along with other drawings from The Drawing Factory.

Racing along the length of the Sanfermin Running of the Bulls, excitement... thrills... and the finishing line in the Pamplona bull ring. Incredible though it seems, we are not talking about the Pamplona bullrunning but rather about a red cycling shirt for the winner as this will be the initial stage of the next La Vuelta cycling race- the opening day of La Vuelta 2012. On the 18th of August in Pamplona there will be some curvy horns on show but in fact they will be the metal handle bars of the bikes of the professional cyclists. There will be racing along Estafeta Street, but it will be done by the different cycling teams from all parts of the world. There will be some "divine" racing, but it will be made by some of the best cyclists in the world because only the best will be taking part in the La Vuelta 2012. There will be lots of colorful tee shirts because these professional teams come heavily sponsored.... There will be a large participation because it is a time trial for the different teams and it is the overall team display that counts...There will not be any bull-minders, but there will be cycling teams working together as a team. There will be no homily sung to San Fermín in Santo Domingo, but the saint will be witness to the uphill run that will probably be decided by differences of mere seconds... Will some of the participants slip up at the corner of Mercaderes and Estafeta? We must wait until next 18th to learn all the answers to this exciting event.

Today all the details were given out at the press conference held in Pamplona about the La Vuelta 2012 as Pamplona will be an important sponsor of the event this year. The opening day will have a time trial for teams and the final part of the race will cover the course of the running of the bulls and the finishing line will be inside the arena of the Pamplona bullring. The sponsors wish to make the most of the positive values which the Sanfermin fiestas and the running of the bulls have gained around the world in sponsoring the opening day of this important cycling event the La Vuelta. Miguel Induráin explained some of the details of this year's cycling event where there will be 6 mountain stages, 40 kilometers of individual time trials and some 37 mountain passes to be crossed. For the organizing entity (Unipublic) it will mean some challenging and exciting weeks of competition in this, the 67th edition of the La Vuelta in Spain.

"The Guard" was shot in 2010 and it was premiered on the 8th of July last summer just when the Sanfermin fiestas were taking place and perhaps for that reason the topical reference to the fiestas was made in the movie. In this section of the plot, the criminal is threatening to kill the sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) with a pistol and when he is just about to shoot, the sergeant manages to surprise him and fire first. The mortally wounded criminal laments his bad luck and tells the sergeant that there were so many fun things in life that he had wanted to experience and Boyle responds that for sure the running of the bulls in Pamplona would have been on his list. This film runs in the tradition of the Bucket List or Life List elaboration which includes some "must" things to do before one dies. The Pamplona Running of the Bulls tends to be a standard on this type of list as could be seen at the conclusion of this widely promoted spot for Levi´s in The US.

The Guard was written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (The Second Dead) and the leading role is played by Brendan Gleeson (parts in Harry Potter, Troy, Gangs of New York, 28 days later..., Mission Imposible 2 or Brave Heart, among other movies) and he is accompanied by Don Cheadle (Operation Swordfish, the saga of Ocean's Eleven and the coming Iron Man 2 and 3, as well as having a main role in the prince of Bel Air, etc.). The movie is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and Element Pictures and it was filmed by Reprisal Films. The role of Brendan Gleeson as well as the movie itself is nominated for the Golden Globes awards and the Satellite Awards, as well as having received favorable reviews such as those from the NYT.

Just the other day I found myself in Pamplona and I couldn't help but notice some billboards that Pamplona City Hall had put up in order to promote the city.
San Cernin Church... The Road to Santiago...the façade of the City Hall building...and, of course, the Running of The Bulls and Sanfermin.
What I just could not figure out was why in the middle of the large poster and right at the forefront, there was a huge monarch butterfly? As far as I know, this particular lepidopteron is not to be found anywhere within the vicinity of Pamplona. I mean to say, they may as well have put up an alligator on the same billboard over the caption: "Pamplona, the city of giant reptiles". Come to see "A Running of the Alligators".
Well, I am not a scientific expert but I would swear that, at least ever since Navarra left off being an Independent Kingdom way back in 1512, there have been no more monarchs to be seen around Pamplona. And what is true for sure is that that particular species is not in any way representative of the city itself.